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Movies / On DVD / Beyond Rangoon
Beyond Rangoon

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Beyond Rangoon (1995)

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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:11

Rotten:18

Average Rating:5.2/10

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Director John Boorman's film, inspired by the crackdown of the Burmese military during the late 1980s, stars Patricia Arquette as Laura Bowman, an American doctor. After the violent death of her... Director John Boorman's film, inspired by the crackdown of the Burmese military during the late 1980s, stars Patricia Arquette as Laura Bowman, an American doctor. After the violent death of her husband and child, Laura joins her sister, Andy (Frances McDormand), on a tour of Southeast Asia, hoping that a trip might be therapeutic. While the sisters are in Burma, the demonstrations of political dissidents become violent, and although her sister is able to depart, Laura must stay behind, having lost her passport. After seeking help at the American embassy, she encounters a former college professor, now a dissident supporter, who asks her to help him in eluding the police, an action that she knows will place her in jeopardy. In return, he offers to lead her out of the country across the Thai border. At a train station, he introduces her to a group of rebel students, one of whom is killed when government troops open fire on the crowd. Laura, whose aversion to blood has led her to contemplate leaving her profession, overcomes her problem when her teacher himself is shot and only she can save him. The well-acted film features impressive nature photography by John Seale. [More]

Starring: Patricia Arquette, Adele Lutz, Frances McDormand, Spalding Gray

Starring: Patricia Arquette, Adele Lutz, Frances McDormand, Spalding Gray

Director: John Boorman

Director: John Boorman

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Release:

May 20, 2008

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Beyond Rangoon

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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It's fascinating and rewarding to watch [Arquette] evolve, with much credibility, from her own personal state of immaturity to a state of full growth.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Besides being an intelligent and gripping thriller with a solid grounding in real, recent historical events, Beyond Rangoon also gives movie-goers a rare opportunity to watch a female hero.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

About an American doctor in Burma who discovers the wild woman inside as she squares off against incredible physical and mental challenges.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/28/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Because the film is well acted and directed, and the Malaysian locations are exotic and seductive, I got involved even though the story ... was so clearly concocted.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As an exercise in art, or even polemics, Beyond Rangoon is beyond redemption, but still works its occasional magic with extraordinary flair.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
04/12/02
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Boorman's metaphysical musings might work if he integrated them more fully into his film, instead of making them secondary to action sequences.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Edward Guthmann
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Seems less about the horror suffered by the Burmese than the inconvenience suffered by an American tourist who has lost her passport.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

An odd movie, brilliant in places, but frustrating all the same.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Hal Hinson
Hal Hinson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A rare film, one that is intelligent, emotional and exciting.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Caryn James
Caryn James
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Get rid of Arquette and this might have been a real movie.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

This is a perennial favorite because of the scenery (it's set in Burma, shot in Malaysia), because of the strong heroine, and because of the mix of politics and adventure.

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
08/21/02
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Do artists, and those who style themselves as artists, have the right to lie to further their visions?

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment 2 Comments
11/25/07
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Absolutely typical of the way Hollywood can take a compelling story, full of genuine characters and heartfelt emotion, then hack it to tiny bits and put it back together, Frankenstein-like, into a sappy, overwrought drama.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

It's as if a civil war had been concocted just to take Laura (Patricia Arquette) outside of her not-unjustified misery.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Barbara Shulgasser
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner

Yet one more film -- that defines Third World political unrest through its effect on a white liberal.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/12/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In attempting to make its politics palatable as entertainment, the film has grafted them onto a boatload of Hollywood implausibilities whose excesses cripple believability.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/15/02
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Arquette's central character makes several rather stupid decisions along the way, but the drama of the political events unfolding around her compensates for it.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

In place of the backstory on Laura Bowman we need to understand why this woman undertakes her dangerous odyssey, the script races forward with action sequences better suited to co-writer Alex Lasker's earlier Firefox.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Kim Williamson
Kim Williamson
Boxoffice Magazine

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Alison Macor
Alison Macor
Austin Chronicle
 
 
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