1995 film
Beyond Rangoon
|
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by
| John Boorman
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Written by
| Alex Lasker
Bill Rubenstein
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Produced by
| John Boorman
Sean Ryerson
Eric Pleskow
Barry Spikings
|
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Starring
| |
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Cinematography
| John Seale
|
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Edited by
| Ron Davis
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Music by
| Hans Zimmer
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Production
company
| |
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Distributed by
| Columbia Pictures
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Release dates
|
- June 30, 1995
(
1995-06-30
)
(United Kingdom)
- August 25, 1995
(
1995-08-25
)
(United States)
|
---|
Running time
| 99 minutes
[3]
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Country
| United States
[1]
[2]
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Language
| English
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Budget
| $23 million
[4]
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Box office
| $14.7 million
[4]
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Beyond Rangoon
is a 1995
drama film
directed by
John Boorman
about Laura Bowman (played by
Patricia Arquette
), an
American
tourist
who vacations in the country of
Burma
(now known as Myanmar) in 1988, the year in which the
8888 Uprising
takes place. The film was mostly filmed in
Malaysia
, and, though a work of fiction, was inspired by real people and real events.
Bowman joins, albeit initially unintentionally, political rallies with university students protesting for
democracy
, and travels with the student leader U Aung Ko throughout Burma. There, they see the brutality of the military dictatorship of the
Ne Win Regime
and attempt to escape to
Thailand
.
The film was an official selection at the
1995 Cannes Film Festival
.
The film may have had an impact beyond movie screens, however. Only weeks into its European run, the Burmese military junta freed Nobel Peace Prize winner
Aung San Suu Kyi
(depicted in the film) after several years under strict house arrest.
[5]
The celebrated democracy leader thanked the filmmakers in her first interview with the
BBC
.
[
citation needed
]
Suu Kyi was re-arrested a few years later, but
Beyond Rangoon
had already helped raise world attention on a previously "invisible" tragedy: the massacres of 1988 and the cruelty of her country's military rulers.
[6]
Plot
[
edit
]
Andy Bowman persuades her sister Laura to go on a trip to
Burma
after Laura's husband and son were murdered during a home invasion and Laura had gone into a deep depression. One night, unable to sleep because of nightmares, Laura leaves her hotel in
Rangoon
and gets caught up in an anti-government protest. She is very impressed by the bravery of
Aung San Suu Kyi
.
When her tour group leaves the country, Laura cannot leave with them as her passport was stolen the previous night. While staying behind waiting for her new passport, she meets U Aung Ko, who acts as an unofficial tour guide and drives an ancient
Chevy
. He takes Laura out into the countryside to a Buddhist monastery. The car develops problems, but fortunately they are able to coast to the house of some of Ko's friends and former students. Laura learns that Ko used to be a college professor, who was banned from teaching because of his support for the anti-government activities led by his former student Min Han. She has a breakdown and tells Ko what happened to her family.
The next morning, they learn that the 8888 Uprising began the previous day. Ko takes Laura to a station to get a train back to Rangoon. She sneaks on board, but the soldiers start beating Ko, and when Min Han intervenes, Han is shot and killed. Laura gets Ko into the car and they leave, pursued by the soldiers, but Ko is shot and wounded. They end up crashing into the
Irrawaddy River
, but manage to get away from the soldiers. They get on a raft taking bamboo to Rangoon. Laura, who is a doctor, operates on Ko to remove the bullet.
The next day, the raft stops at a village. Laura goes to find drugs to treat Ko. She reluctantly accepts a pistol from one of the crew. At a clinic, Laura finds the drugs she needs, but has to shoot a soldier to keep from being raped. When they arrive in Rangoon, the city is in the throes of a full-scale revolt. When Laura attempts to get into the US embassy, the military tries to arrest her for helping Ko, but the student demonstrators rescue them. After they witness soldiers killing civilians, they get put on a truck heading for the border. Near the border, the group has to abandon their truck and make a run through the jungle. There they meet up with a group of
Karen
rebels. Laura has a dream where her son Danny tells her she has to let him go. Ko urges Laura to do so, telling her, "All things pass, Laura. They are shadows as we are shadows. Briefly walking the earth, and soon gone."
The next day, Laura and her group of refugees make a harrowing river crossing into
Thailand
under mortar fire and reach a refugee camp. Having found a new purpose in life, Laura begins helping at the camp's hospital.
Cast
[
edit
]
- Patricia Arquette
as Laura Bowman
- Frances McDormand
as Andy Bowman
- U Aung Ko as U Aung Ko
- Johnny Cheah
as Min Han
- Adelle Lutz
as
Aung San Suu Kyi
- Spalding Gray
as Jeremy Watt
- Tiara Jacquelina
as San San, Hotel Desk Clerk
- Kuswadinata as Colonel at Hotel
- Victor Slezak
as Mr. Scott
- Jit Murad
as Sein Htoo
- Ye Myint as Zaw Win
- Cho Cho Myint as Zabai
- M. Rajoli as Karen Father
- Azmi Hassan as Older Karen Boy
- Ahmad Fithi as Younger Karen Boy
- Ismail Din as Myanmar Official
- Hani Mohsin
as Young Monk / Soldier
- Zaidi Omar as Checkpoint Official #1
- Roslee Mansor as Checkpoint Soldier #2
- Nyak Osman as Village Headman
- Mr. Os as River Trader
- Ridzuan Hashim as Officer Min
- Ali Fiji as Fuel Vendor
Reception
[
edit
]
Critical reaction was mixed.
Richard Corliss
of
Time
,
Peter Travers
of
Rolling Stone
, and
Owen Gleiberman
of
Entertainment Weekly
wrote negative reviews, while the critic for
The New Yorker
called the film a "fearless masterpiece" and
Andrew Sarris
declared himself "awestruck" by the film.
[
citation needed
]
Roger Ebert
awarded the film three stars out of four, praising Arquette's performance and acknowledging the political repression in Burma.
[7]
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures
, the film was not a theatrical success in America, which
John Boorman
partially attributed to interference by the Burmese government as well as Malaysia which was where the film was shot on location.
[
citation needed
]
The film was a financial success only in France (where it opened number one and gained 442,793 visitors), though it was screened in many European countries. Film critic
Tullio Kezich
compared the film to Rossellini's classic,
Paisa
, regretting that it was marred by certain directorial touches.
[
citation needed
]
Beyond Rangoon
holds a 37% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 5.0/10.
[8]
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
[9]
Soundtrack
[
edit
]
Beyond Rangoon
is an original soundtrack music album that was mostly composed by
Hans Zimmer
. The album was released in 1999 to mixed reviews.
[
citation needed
]
Hans Zimmer highlights on South-East Asia tradition where he employs pipes, wood flutes, and native rhythms with vivid effects to demonstrate the character of the students' strike in 1988, Burma and their fleeing Rangoon after
martial law
imposed.
[
citation needed
]
Title
|
Duration
|
"Waters of Irrawaddy"
|
3:48
|
"Memories of the Dead"
|
1:45
|
"I Dreamt I Woke up"
|
8:41
|
"Freedom from Fear"
|
1:06
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"Brother Morphine"
|
1:49
|
"Our Ways Will Part"
|
7:11
|
"Village Under Siege"
|
4:10
|
"Beyond Rangoon"
|
10:09
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Beyond Rangoon"
.
British Film Institute
. London. Archived from
the original
on February 10, 2009
. Retrieved
November 10,
2012
.
- ^
Kaye, Don.
"Beyond Rangoon (1995)"
.
Allmovie
.
Archived
from the original on August 7, 2012
. Retrieved
November 10,
2012
.
- ^
"
BEYOND RANGOON
(12)"
.
British Board of Film Classification
. May 15, 1995.
Archived
from the original on March 3, 2022
. Retrieved
June 12,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Klady, Leonard (January 22, 1996). "Big clicks from little flicks".
Variety
. p. 1.
- ^
James, Caryn (25 August 1995)
"Film Review: Sad Tourist Trapped In Burma"
Archived
March 6, 2016, at the
Wayback Machine
The New York Times
- ^
Bailie, Stuart (15 November 2010)
"The Rangoon Show"
Archived
February 25, 2022, at the
Wayback Machine
BBC News
- ^
Ebert, Roger
(August 25, 1995).
"Beyond Rangoon"
.
Chicago Sun-Times
. RogerEbert.com.
- ^
"Beyond Rangoon"
. Rotten Tomatoes
. Retrieved
June 7,
2022
.
- ^
"Home"
.
CinemaScore
. Retrieved
April 24,
2022
.
- ^
http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/beyond_rangoon.html
? Christian Clemmensen, Beyond Rangoon, FilmTracks.com, 9.08.1996
External links
[
edit
]