Bangkok aller simple

I'm a little surprised by the negative criticism this film is attracting.

I'm old enough to be the father of the two main characters; they seemed like accurately drawn teenage girls to me. And I've probably hung out with both of their fathers before. I've been to the Far East. I've stayed in both better and worse places than the girls stayed. I had the pleasure of seeing the inside of a police station after I was robbed. I'm glad I had no more direct exposure to the local judicial system than that; that was more than enough. Everything in this movie seems awfully familiar to me.

I think "Brokedown Palace" represents something pretty close to stark realism. It certainly reminded me of Asia.

Of course it's true that the attitudes of the girls often don't do much to improve their situation. But they are meant to be an example of what not to do overseas. And the portrayal of some of the Thais did make me uncomfortable. But then many of my own personal travel anecdotes don't paint a complimentary picture either.

This is a cautionary tale. An unfortunate consequence of too many people having too much money to spend these days is that you will find unescorted, unprepared, "streetwise", naive young people popping up in places where they have no business being. And when that happens, you end up with situations mirroring this movie.

I suspect people choose to denigrate this one because they are too embarrassed to accept how true it is, and how vulnerable they would be if placed in similar circumstances.

I saw this film at a store in the cheap section. I actually vividly remembered seeing the commercials and trailer for it years ago. I thought "What the hey' and bought it, basically because the plot sounded interesting and Claire Danes has always been someone of talent in my eyes (this was also before I became a huge Kate Beckinsale fan).

So it's about two girls who sneak off to a vacation in Bangkok, get busted for narcotics (which they are innocent of) and then are sent to a Thailand prison. The film follows what will happen to them and at times questions their innocence.

Both Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale give great performances, and the plot of this film wraps itself up unconventionally, and raises some nice moral discussion questions.

I think this is a solid good film, but there could have been some improvements. It could have been longer...it would've helped to solidify these characters and more insight into the politics of Thailand's justice system would've helped.

Nevertheless, other than that, it's a good film with some great performances.

P.S. For all you pop-culture junkies be on the lookout for a two-minute role by Paul Walker. I didn't even notice him the first time I saw the film.

Alice(Claire Danes) and Darlene(Kate Beckinsale) have been best friends since forever and after they graduate they decide to take a trip to Thailand. Due to a incident, they meet a young attractive mysterious stranger who invites them to go with him Hong Kong for the weekend. But at the airport, Alice and Darlene are mistaken for drug smuggling heroine and they are sent to prison. Now it's time for ultimate survival and true friendship. This was a pretty good movie, i've seen it a couple of times and after a while you notice that they are a few holes in the plot but the movie still keeps you entertained. Claire Danes did a great job as usual, she is a great actress. I would give Brokedown Palace 8/10

I found myself very surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. I put it on thinking it's going to be very forgettable but I ended up being engaged in the story for the whole runtime. The movie has a very late 90s/early 2000s feel to it that makes it kind of cheesy and the musical choices make it feel like a music video that would play on MTV at the time but the story makes up for this. I was genuinely intrigued at what will happen to the two main protagonists and that's probably due to a strong screenplay. The twists and turns delivered and I think that majority of the topics the movie covers are true to life in terms of how drug trafficking in Thailand operates and how easily naive people can be framed by a charming stranger.

The main aspect that brings this movie down is the direction. Jonathan Kaplan was a capable director and this movie seems outside his style. I find his choices to be very weird, like the aforementioned MTV inspired style. Now, I don't know if that's his fault as it was probably what the studio mandated but I expect this movie to have a more gritty feel to it. On top of that, the performances vary a lot. Bill Pullman is great as usual but the two main leads aren't. I've seen much better performances from both of them. Claire Danes was ok for the most part and showed some range with a few bad moments but Kate Beckinsale was pretty bad. However, they can be excused due to not having much experience at the time and maybe the director not giving them enough feedback and instructions. All the flaws add up and yet like I said previously I enjoyed watching this, and so I can't judge it unfavorably as I rate movies based on ejoyment. It could've been a better film but what we got is intriguing enough for me to reommend despite all the flaws that it possesses.

Brokedown Palace (1999)

Who wouldn't have some curiosity and tension about two pretty young women (played by pretty young actresses, anyway), trapped in a Thai prison system for drug smuggling? But boy is this a clunky construction for a movie. First of all, the women are stupid. They admit to being stupid, but they are selfish and frivolous and you really couldn't care less if they went to jail. On the other hand, you can picture being in a foreign country and losing track of things a little and getting victimized and so you do, after all, get involved and hope for justice.

There is (sometimes) a tense progression of increasingly discouraging events, and the prison system is a tough place. And the sets and filming are really great. If only the writing was remotely convincing and smart. It's not. Even the direction is painful, emphasizing not the facts or some sense of possible realism, but an armchair version of what this kind of scenario might mean to two relatively innocent girls is just a little embarrassing. The director (Jonathan Kaplan) is the same one who missed a huge opportunity with some amazing material filming In Cold Blood, and he is, understandably, most known for television, which takes a different kind of sensibility. And it's also very slow, taking a few turns or progressions and stretching a two hour movie out of it.

It's a tough ride if you take it at face value. And it's a shame, because there is a Midnight Express hidden in here somewhere. There are some really gorgeous moments, aside from the travelogue stuff, and I think Claire Danes, at least, is a good actress. Just an example of how many elements it takes to align and get a great movie.