Much more than THE KING AND I without the music, this is a smart and splendidly decorated rethinking of Anna Leonowens's famous chronicle of her years as tutor to the royal family of Siam. Ostensibly hired by King Mongkut (Chow Yun-Fat) to teach his eldest son English
and Western science, the prim Anna (Jodie Foster) arrives in sweltering 1862 Bangkok with her parasol held high and her convictions firmly in place. "The way of England is the way of the world," she assures her young son Louis (Tom Felton). But once ensconced behind the walls of the king's gilded
palace, Anna learns the meaning of "culture shock." Confronted with the King's 26 wives, numerous concubin...
Released:
1999
Rated:
PG-13
Length:
147 mins