Beyond Rangoon (1995)

Memorable, crazy movie

An action-packed slog

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It's not a surprise that it's a movie from the 90s simply because actually there aren't no more American movie like this : a movie that puts a common (not famous) woman in the spotlight, that supports (civil) war victims, that denounces violence and that have no gratuitous sex ! As it happens in Burma, the movie is great for exotic vacations and really transcendent with Buddhism spirit : joy is only temporary and above all, violence isn't the answer for violence : like the old professor says, if we kill our enemies because they kill us, we become like them ! It's so true that everybody forgets it today like welcoming refugees ! The movie also really gets me because i'm writing a world tour novel and it happens i'm in Burma now after getting out Thailand (the reverse of the movie) : so i know the Karen and the desolated, poor way of life: outside the few cities, it's the jungle and the huts, with indeed checkpoints and corrupted soldiers, and for sure Buddhas everywhere ! Patricia may be a shy, quiet girl but she is very courageous to act in those conditions and she shows a strong spirit and find her own illumination! Her old friend is amazing and embodies all the oriental wisdom ! For a movie i watched to check Frances filmography, she ended here as a nice bonus !

John Boorman (the guy who brought us back to back 70s classics Deliverance and Zardoz) directs this well-shot but poorly-acted ethnodrama. This is a kind of cinema a great deal of people will, in full honesty, describe as "important". And that's fine and all, but...come on, folks, just admit it: Patricia Arquette ruins the entire thing. The story is certainly an important one, and its Hollywoodish, romanticized treatment is a cheap price to pay for making casual western moviegoers aware - not necessarily of the actual history or anything, but of the simple fact that Burma is a place that exists in the world and that, by the way, its people live under a repressive military dictatorship.The locations are gorgeous, and perhaps the cringeworthy moments of maudlin, hamfisted romantics and the unintentional shadow of colonialism (this is pretty much the opposite of the "subaltern speaking", and if you think about it, PatArq's character's decision to insist on "visiting the countryside" was motivated by selfish reasons and possibly resulted in at least one person needlessly losing his life) can be excused by the fact that this was made during Clintontime, pre-911 and all that. But there's no excusing PatArq's terrible acting. Maybe I didn't see it on a big enough screen or something, or maybe it compounds with the fact that this movie feels downright dated, but she should have focused more on playing skanks who wait tables at diners until they are swept up in some criminal scheme by a poorly-shaven dude. Her "doctor" was about as believable as "lawyer" in the entire Legally Blonde franchise. I could go on and on, but who needs another paragraph lambasting PatArq?In the end, there's just not enough crab in this Rangoon for me to recommend it off the Boorman menu. Take a bite, and you'll get a mouthful of cream cheese. You've been warned...

This is a well made movie and is exciting. An American tourist gets caught up in a Burmese democracy uprising. Although filmed in Malaysia it has a good on location feel. Compared to "Cry Freedom" and "Killing Fields" it suffers a bit in credibility because it is a fictional story set in real life events as opposed to a totally true story. But because it is fiction it has a more of an intimate adventure feeling and you see things from her point of view. Patricia Arquette is good. She doesn't overact. The local cast is earnest and watchable. In the light of recent uprisings in the Middle East it is quite relevant today.

I would give this movie a good strong 7. While it definantly isn't the greatest movie, or even one the best movies of it's kind (The Killing Fields is better) it does at least attempt to tell a necessary story.I think the method of introducing Laura into Burma was a bit contrived. First of all, Burma isn't exactly the easiest country to visit, especially in the late 80's. Secondly, if you did make it Burma, your passport would not get lost. A sane person would make darn sure they knew where their passport was at all times. With that in mind, I'm sure the screenwriter knew that was weak, but needed something. Patricia Arquette's performance was understated, and I just didn't buy that she was a doctor. However, at least she didn't overact the role, which often happens in movies like this. U Aung Ko was good, but also understated. The end is hard to follow, since most of the dialogue is in Burmese, with people translating for Laura. It would have been difficult for Laura, and is difficult for the viewer as well. Another plus is the strong SE Asian scenery in the film, which was enjoyable to see.