Bangkok Hilton

When I first have seen these Tv-series in Russia, I didn't have an opportunity to see it from the beginning, but I was surprised. It's the best TV-film I have ever seen, and it's Kidman's best performance. KEN Cameron did a great job. So does Grame Revell's fantastic, brilliant score. It grips you so much, you are nervous, it's so WONDERFULLY and realstically acted and directed, you even forget that you're in front of your TV set. By the way, the scenes of Nicole Kidman's redemption were borrowed later by Frank Darabont in his adaptation of Stephen King's "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption". It's such a pity that this movie was not taken too seriously and it passed by too quickly, and at the same time we have ridiculous bad acted features like Titanic. By the way, I managed to buy a video with these series, and I'm so HAPPY!

When it first starts out it is about Katherine, a rather fragile but lovely young woman, always being derided by her mother just so she doesn't forget she is an unlovable homebody of a woman. Think of this segment as a maternal version of "The Heiress".

And then along comes a suitor, an unlikely romantic lead in the person of Denholm Elliot. This mysterious attorney sweeps Katherine off her feet. But then a revelation- Elliot's character is a disgraced WWII soldier who betrayed his fellow soldiers when he was a POW. There are mitigating factors, but nonetheless, mom now has a reason to sweep this guy out of Katharine's life. And then Katherine discovers she is pregnant. K's mom makes K have the baby AND raise it herself mainly so she can never let Katherine forget that she made a fool of herself over a man. Just like she always said she would do. Funny, my grandma made cookies for me and read me stories. But I digress.

And then Katherine dies and leaves her daughter, Katrina (Nicole Kidman) their Australian estate. Katrina has never been off the ranch and wants to find her father, so off this naive young girl goes into the world. She has as poor judgment in men as her mother had been chronically accused of, and so she ends up with a traveling companion that gets her in deep trouble for heroin possession in Thailand. And from there it becomes a nightmare of a film. Not in quality - it is very good - but in the sordid details of the Bangkok Hilton in which Katrina is imprisoned. And then dad pops back into the picture.

Like I said, the film changes tones very starkly during its long running time - it was actually a miniseries. And Nicole Kidman shows what made her a star. Even before Tom Cruise, Nicole had the muse.

When I first saw the series, I was 15 years old. Ever since I saw it, the first thing that came to mind whenever I heard the name Nicole Kidman was this series. And it was also something that tended to come up at the dinnertable when we were going back discussing television-shows.

Now, some 17 years later I accidentally stumbled upon the DVD and I was rather reserved about the thought of seeing it again because what else but disappointment was there to gain from seeing something which held a good memory but was surely going to be completely outdated.

Imagine my surprise that although it was rather dated, it had actually aged so well. Another surprise was finding no one less than Hugo Weaving playing a major role in it. An actor I had grown to love ever since I saw him in 'The Interview' and the later classics such as LOTR and the Matrix.

Bangkok Hilton has survived the test of time basically because of the really great acting performances, script, story and ambiance. And apparently this was all that it needed to remain the classic that it has become. And by no means the cinematography, which wouldn't stand a chance against even the average soap opera we see today.

When you compare the story and the screenplay to modern similar tales such as the prison-series OZ, you will find that it is really hopeless out of date. The hell-hole of a jail in which Kidman is kept, is like a Disneyride compared to what the men in Emerald City had to endure in OZ. You will find no 'spooning' practices in Bangkok Hilton if you know what I mean.

Perhaps this is what makes this mini series so great, that it's the story that keeps you on the edge of your seat rather than a form of (graphic) violence which seems to be todays primary ingredient for a success film-wise. Just see Labirinto Del Fauno if you want to check my point. That was a so called 'message movie' with really no message at all but in stead featured a been there done that war-drama and cardboard characters. Nonetheless, that movie was hailed by the public and professional movie critics when all it had to offer was a vapid contrast between fable and really graphic violence replacing what used to be a tale between good and evil and its 'grey zone'.

Bangkok Hilton confirmed what I suspected all along, namely that cinema (although achieving greater technical marvels day by day) is becoming increasingly more banal and formula driven, even in the successful, so called 'art house films'.

I'm sorry for letting this review turn out to be such a rant. Thanks for reading and see Bankok Hilton whenever you get a chance.

cheers!

If you're an Aussie you will be well-aware of the recent Bali-based drug cases involving Schapelle Corby and the "Bali 9". The latter are clearly guilty and will pay for their crimes, many will say justifiably.

Schapelle Corby's case is another matter altogether with opinion as to her guilt or otherwise being divided. Her case is very similar to Kidman's in that the drugs are alleged to be someone else's.

If anyone saw Corby's reaction to her conviction on TV last November it is identical to Kidman's in the BH with shortness of breath, deep breathing, shocked look. The resemblance is uncanny: life imitates art which imitates life.

Acting in the BH is superb all round. The story is well-written and harrowing, especially given those recent events. One can accept the Asian countries' reasons for their tough stance against drugs but emotions and sympathy for those jailed are stirred in the BH.

It's amazing that this miniseries was made 20 years ago as it could have happened yesterday. Indeed the only differences are that the barbaric firing squad was replaced by more humane lethal injection (just 3 years ago) and that actors such as Kidman and Weaving have moved on to even greater acclaim and Elliott has unfortunately passed on.... and the callous Ehlers has left an indelible impression, typecast for life by me at least.

This is the ultimate TV mini-series. Everything is right. The story, the acting, the filming, the length, the locations, what not?

It looks as if even the prison scenes have been filmed in a real Thai prison, although one might doubt if permission would have been given for that by the Thai authorities if the script was known to them. All the other Bangkok scenes are definitely filmed on real locations. Also the airport scenes. They were definitely filmed at Bangkok Airport. I can guarantee this, knowing the place well. In this series Nicole Kidman broke through as an actress and she would deserve an Oscar, if there were one for this category (TV movies). Her acting is so perfectly natural and it looks as if she is going through the events herself, like in a documentary. One seldom sees such superior acting in a TV mini-series. All the locations have been chosen extremely well. I happen to know Bangkok quite well and I would not have been able to suggest any better locations. The movie last for about 4.5 hours, but this is not one minute too long. One needs every scene in the movie and it never bores. One can hardly believe that 4.5 hours have passed when the end credits appear. Time flies and if one looks at a video or DVD version it is impossible to interrupt it.

This one clearly shows that a TV mini-series can be of high quality and can be far superior to a movie, made for theaters. We can be happy that there is a DVD version (at least there is one in Europe). Everybody will want to see this one more than once. Superior work from Australia! Without any hesitation: 10/10!