The Lady

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

I always take note when Luc Besson makes a new film. Even this film, which doesn't completely work dramatically and seems like a very unlikely match of material and director, has some great moments.

First and foremost the true story is rather incredible, although perhaps not the easiest to dramatise. They play up the separated lovers romance angle but it never had the groundwork to really resonate. They cram a lot of stuff in and it is quite a long film but there's usually something interesting happening to keep things moving. They managed to cram a lot in.

Michelle Yeoh and David Thewlis are just fantastic. It helps I'm a big fan of both but even then they can never quite sell the blatant sentimentality they heap on at the end. It's a terrible thing to say, considering it's all a true story but it's one of those stories that if you saw as just a film you probably wouldn't believe it. 

There are a lot of great scenes that really do work though. Mainly all the stuff towards the first half in Burma and the campaign for democracy. The way they portray the evil regime is like something out of a 90's action film. I guess that's Besson coming through. But perhaps the language barrier or difficult shooting conditions stop him from really connecting this one with the audience. 

I was very intrigued by the end titles alluded to the difficulty of getting footage from inside Burma. Sounds fascinating. And it works as a political and historical educational piece but the rest is a little dry.