BEYOND RANGOON
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1995 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: An American woman is caught up in the
1988 Democracy Riots in Burma and their aftermath.
The brutality of the current Burmese military
regime forms the backdrop to this moving
politically-oriented adventure. While the film is
weak on solid issues, it is a good first brush for
those who are not aware of current Burmese
politics. Rating: +2 (-4 to +4)
It is August, 1988, and Laura Bowman (Patricia Arquette) has lost her husband and son to crime in the United States. Shell-shocked and feeling she has little left to live for, she has agreed to accompany her sister on a tour of Southeast Asia. In Rangoon she loses her passport while visiting a mesmerizing pro-democracy rally. Forced to remain in Burma while her group goes on to Thailand, she finds herself getting in deeper and deeper trouble until she is on the run across country, chased by the military police. Along the way she has seen more of the day-to-day brutality of the Burmese government than the military can afford to have her report to the outside world. Accompanying her is a pro-democracy ex-college professor U Aung Ko (played by U Aung Ko).
When setting a story against a strongly political backdrop the decision must always be made of how much of the issues to lay before the audience. BEYOND RANGOON may not be of the caliber of THE KILLING FIELDS, an obvious film to compare this one with for more than its Southeast Asia setting. But BEYOND RANGOON is well ahead of the cliched THUNDERHEART or A DRY WHITE SEASON. For political films this one is close to (and perhaps just a notch below) UNDER FIRE. Yes, it has a lot of chase scenes and hair-breadth escapes, but it also is a fairly good introduction to the state of Burma under a military dictatorship.
Hans Zimmer can add one more exotic musical score to his resume, and while this one is not as lyrical as some of his previous work, it certainly works in the film. Boorman's visual sense stands him in good stead with a few small lapses in judgement. One such lapse is a scene involving mirrors that calls too much attention to itself. Another odd distraction has one character (a Burmese-speaking policeman who comes to a hotel), whose words do not fit his lip movements, like in a badly dubbed movie.
Patricia Arquette seems to have the acting range of Keanu Reeves, but as someone who has been through some trying emotional experiences before and during the course of the film, that may be all that would be expected of the character. U Aung Ko has a likeable worldly air. Since the actor and the character have the same name, one wonders if the script told his real background. Frances McDormand and Spaulding Gray get second and third billing for what must have been contractual reasons, though they are quickly out of the film.
While one might question the depth of the political thought that went into the scripting of this film, the film is certainly suspenseful and should be pleasing for most viewers. It should be noted that this film did what a Nobel Peace Prize could not: it got the Burmese government to free Aung San Suu Kyi. I give this one a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mark.leeper@att.com
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