The Lady

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.

It's an absolute success: Luc Besson has succeeded to bring you to the Burma through a deeply humanistic and political involved history. Then the two principal actors (Michelle Yeoh & David Thewlis) play very well their roles and let you feel their passion in the private life and their struggle for democracy and peace in the social life.

There are some similarities with another masterpiece of Besson "Leon: The Professional": both are in admiration of "courage and love". Aung San Suu Kyi like Leon is an alone hero fighting against tyranny and organized corrupted power. If the effort of Leon to protect the young innocent Mathilda made you feel sympathy for this individual, undoubtedly you will admire this brave woman her comfort herself and her family to defend the whole nation from the dictatorship of the military regime.

My wife and I really enjoyed the movie. The Parisian cinema was almost full and at the end gave the impression that the spectators were satisfied .One row ahead of us there was a senior couple, the old man asked: "darling did you like it for the second time?" The lady answered: "sure, could we come again to watch it for a third time?!"

P.S: It's a shame that she as the Myanmar leader has not provided the relevant response to the Rohingya humanitarian crisis. It is depressing to see how an earlier hero of peace, could become silence and indifferent in the treatment of its Rohingya minority, who according to the UN have suffered ethnic cleansing and violent attacks by Myanmar's military forces. The reel life is sadly more cruel than the movie!

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.

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.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, is played wonderfully by Michelle Yeoh. I knew little about this famous person as I suspect many also didn't. The movie provides you with historical information you should be happy to learn. This kind of movie is a departure from what we are accustomed to see from director Luc Besson, and it is a pleasant discovery. Yeoh delivers a beautiful performance and so does Davis Thewlis, who plays her husband.

The movie is a truly beautiful love story, one that touches on the human spirit as few movies do. It is inspirational, nothing less. You will be moved by the story. The movie depicts the life of a people under military dictatorship and how the whole nation rallies behind the person that was destined to lead it despite all odds. You are likely to be following Aung San Suu Kyi ongoing real life story from that point on, as she is still very much the people's leader today. I could not recommend this movie more strongly.