Amor, honor y libertad

I have to say I didn't find any wrong notes in this film at all. Performances were excellent and the way the writer pulled out the key events was deft. Crucially, the writer doesn't spoon feed you with every emotion, every key thought or motivation. The audience has to think and imagine. How would it feel to lose your father at a young age? How would it feel to build a life away from your own country and then return there to find it in turmoil? How would you respond to being asked to lead a protest to save your country, knowing the personal sacrifice that will involve? Superb drama about a real and tragic story that continues to play out.

With such a fascinating subject matter this movie would have been an interesting watch no matter who directed it but I think Luc Besson did a good job showing he is more than just an action thriller director. Of course there are some violent parts showing the brutality of the Military that are in your face and exciting as expected. He handled the private woman and her personal sacrifice and bravery in a tasteful manner.

Michelle Yeoh does a brilliant job. It's a really good fit for her. She is good in both the intimate moments dealing with her family and in her dignified public persona. She deserves an acting nomination for her work. David Thewlis is well cast as a disheveled looking professor type.

The subtitles are a major part of the movie with lots of dialog in Burmese. But it's still easy to follow the plot which doesn't jump around too much and is well laid out. It deserves a place among the better political true life movies. While not as dramatic or gut wrenching as "Cry Freedom" or "the Killing Fields", it still delivers a powerful message. Those interested can also watch "Beyond Rangoon" with Patricia Arquette which is a more adventure style portrayal of the events in Burma.

Wish the movie could have shown more recent events including her recent release. Reminds us there is still a long way to go in Burma.

Touching and a must watch.

Ang Sang Suu Kyi is one of my most favorite political figures (I'm probably not alone on it), I hesitated whether I should go and see this movie, fearing it may not match my impression of Daw Ang Sang gathered from previous news footages and biography.

It was amazing to see Michelle Yeoh as Ang Sang Suu Kyi, the act was elegantly presented, the way how Michelle put her hand on the waist while walking gracefully, reminded me so much of the Lady, everything comes natural, nothing pretentious, it's a joy to see such a great act with simple body language, it even sent me a sort of spine-tingling joy when she walked on the stage to give her first public speech at Shwe Dagon People Forum.

I think Michelle did not disappoint the Lady and the people of Myanmar.

The storyline may be oversimplified but I would still rate this movie with 9, it's hard to present the whole struggle of Daw Ang Sang in a short time, but I guess most people who go and watch this movie should already have some background of what happened in real life.

I've seen the Lady in Hong Kong and found it one of the best movies of its kind.

I personally like biopics & this one was very helpful in giving me a glimpse of what's happening in Burma. Much has been said about the fight for liberty in this country as well as about the fierceness of Suu Kyi & watching this film made me more interested with how our counterparts in Burma are working towards their full liberation.

Suu Kyi's situation reminds me of our very own, Cory Aquino, who herself was an icon of democracy.

The movie gave me an insight of Suu Kyi's struggles & sacrifices just like Mrs. Aquino herself. One thing that the movie did is for viewers to appreciate the liberty we currently have & the closeness we will feel to Suu Kyi.

Great acting chops for Michelle Yeoh & David Thewlis. I wonder why they were not even nominated for an Oscar. Magnificent cinematography too.

A highly recommended film.

Based on the story by Rebecca Frayn, who had spent three years interviewing close confidantes of Aung San Suu Kyi, the narrative provides the points of view of both Suu Kyi herself, played by Michelle Yeoh, and her husband Michael Aris (David Thewlis), who because of her political awakening and development, caused plenty of emotionally painful, physical separation and time spent apart through her standing up for and accepting her countrymen's push for democratic leadership, after years of military rule from generalissimos Ne Win to Tan Shwe (Agga Poechit). It also presents different perspectives both within and outside of Burma as crises began to unfold with Suu Kyi a prisoner of her own home and country, and Michael being outside of it trying his best to sound out her, and Burma's plight. Then there's the sacrifice of family for country, where a breakup of the family unit was something inevitable in order to continue being there for her countrymen and not abandoning them at times of need.

In a story spanning decades that moves forward and back in time, Besson has a solid hand in knowing the highlights of the many years history to translate for the big screen, going back to the 40s when Suu Kyi's father Aung San, a war and independence hero, got assassinated, right down to her emergence in politics as a force to be reckoned with, and her subsequent house arrest, right up to the recent 2007 rallies and demonstrations by monks that eventually led to a deadly crackdown. The Lady presents Besson an opportunity to move away from his relatively family friendly fare of late with the Arthur and the Invisibles series, and also to perform an about turn from the usual action flicks, for something a lot more serious in gravitas, and needless to say the importance of getting the film right in most, if not all counts, as much as a filmmaker can with the resources at his disposal.

As such, some may feel that the film is relatively lightweight in its coverage of politics, although I must add that being confined to one's home in the prominent years of one's political life doesn't make for a smooth translation on screen, as there's only so much that one can do within the fantastic recreation of Suu Kyi's lakeside home. Instead a softer, more heartfelt approach through a love story opened up Suu Kyi as a character who's a lot more down to earth, than just a democracy icon. Besson's knack for handling strong female characters couldn't be more pronounced here, with plenty of opportunities in scenes to show she does not cower even with gun barrels pointed at her face, nor accept the constant nonsense dished out by the military might.

Despite the lack of action, you can feel Luc Besson's release of glee in channeling that frustration to mocking the military top brass, from their deliberate big moments and silly gestures bordering on the comical, to their illogical superstitions, with characterization being very much in line with our esteemed ex Minister Mentor's comments in WikiLeaks. Almost all generalissimos and their underlings are ridiculously decorated, and make extremely naive calls as if nobody can see through their simple rouse. It's a story of grace versus guns, which in any other typical Besson movie it's no surprise if it comes with preference for the latter, except for The Lady which trades in for the softer power approach.

Michelle Yeoh lost quite a lot of weight in order to physically resemble the lead role, and her time spent on researching Suu Kyi was time well spent as she nailed her mimicry down to a pat. Even her lines spoken in Burmese were flawless. Not that I can understand the language, but the large percentage of Burmese audience that I've watched this with were nodding and acknowledging her diction and fluency, as well as her performance of the real life heroine of their lives. In short, they were in awe by her elegance and poise in making Suu Kyi come alive on screen. David Thewlis also shone in his role as the husband standing firmly behind her decision and to make sacrifices knowingly for the greater good, for the benefit of even more people in a country that needs his wife more than he needs her. Together they made their struggle felt, and will seek to move even the most stoic of hearts. And the actors who played the Burmese generals, you guys surely hammed it up effortlessly.

This superb film may be travelling the festival and commercial theatrical circuits now, and will probably pick up a slew of film awards along the way. But what's more important and I'm sure it'll achieve, is to bring the attention of the world towards Suu Kyi's, and Burma's continued plight that seemed to be with no end in sight. You may not be very familiar with what may have transpired over the decades of strife in Burma, but The Lady brings you up to speed with a succinctly packed historical lesson centered around one of the world's enduring icons of freedom and democracy. A definite recommendation for this wonderful effort.