Movie Review: 'The Lady' | Movies & TV | Arts & Entertainment ...

Actress Michelle Yeoh attends "The Lady" Premiere during day four of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

\>");

Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi?s recent parliamentary election sounds like a breakthrough for a free and democratic Burma. However, it is important to remember that past promises of liberalization have evaporated into fresh repression time and time again.?

Suu Kyi has witnessed those periodic crackdowns from a distinctly personal vantage point, becoming the international face of the Burmese opposition, at tremendous personal cost. Her courageous activism and sacrifices are stirringly dramatized in Luc Besson?s ?The Lady,? which opens this Wednesday in New York.

Suu Kyi?s father, General Aung San, was the hero of Burma?s drive for independence. A committed nationalist, he was assassinated by allies-turned-rivals when Suu Kyi was just a child. As the daughter of the revered general, Suu Kyi would be seen as a natural leader for the developing Burmese democracy movement.?

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Suu Kyi lived a quiet but pleasant life as an Oxford academic with her husband, Dr. Michael Aris, a specialist in Himalayan culture. Returning to comfort her ailing mother, Suu Kyi agreed to lend her prestige to the opposition on the eve of the 8-8-88 uprising. It began a period of activism defined by her 15 nonconsecutive years spent under solitary house arrest.?

?The Lady? directly conveys the lonely reality of her imprisonment, as well as the heartbreaking tragedy. Denying her husband and sons entry visas, the military regime forced Suu Kyi to choose between her family and her country. As a result, she would never have the chance to tend to Aris during his fatal bout with cancer.

Though obviously partly intended as an advocacy film on behalf of Suu Kyi?s democratic coalition, ?The Lady? is most effective as a thinking person?s romance. It is clear Aris and Suu Kyi?s relationship was one of the world?s great love stories. Indeed, it was a perceived weakness the military regime unsuccessfully sought to exploit.

Former Miss Malaysia and legendary Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh delivers a career performance as Suu Kyi. Still one of the greatest movie-star beauties of all time, she radiates warmth and dignity throughout the film. This is a passionate, flesh-and-blood woman, who suffers acutely in the absence of her beloved husband and sons.

The Lady

Director: Luc Besson

Starring: Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis

Running Time: 132 minutes

Rating: R

Likewise, David Thewlis transforms himself into the earnest Tibetologist, developing some achingly touching chemistry with Yeoh. Despite her vastly more elegant appearance, viewers really will believe they are a devoted couple. He is also devastatingly convincing when portraying Aris?s declining health.?

Benedict Wong (recognizable from the original ?State of Play?) also provides a nice assist as Karma Phuntsho, Aris?s former student and close spiritual adviser.

Granted, ?The Lady? is not exactly perfect. Rebecca Frayn?s screenplay only does a so-so job of establishing the political and historical context of Suu Kyi?s struggle, and Besson?s depiction of the ruling military elite occasional veers toward the cartoony. However, anyone can understand Yeoh and Thewlis?s performances, and even the most jaded will find themselves getting choked-up (in spite of themselves) during the third act.?

According to reports, the film has been banned by the Chinese communist authorities, so what more fitting endorsement could one ask for? An unequivocally pro-democracy film and a truly heartfelt love story, ?The Lady? is sincerely recommended for the on-screen work of Yeoh and the real-life work of Suu Kyi when it opens this Wednesday (April 11) in New York at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square and the Regal Union Square.

Joe Bendel writes about independent film and lives in New York. To read his most recent articles please visit?http://jbspins.blogspot.com

cinnamon rolls krampus robert de niro winner of x factor cheesecake recipe leona lewis carlos beltran