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Beyond Rangoon (1995)

Director: John Boorman

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Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

1988: Profoundly scarred by the deaths of her husband and son, American doctor Patricia Arquette remains largely unmoved by what she sees around her in Burma, until she is suddenly thrown into the midst of the conflict between the ruling fascist regime and the dissident democracy movement, incarnated here by the wise old tour guide U Aung Ko. While it's hard, finally, to care much about Arquette's road to redemption (especially given her flat and unappealing performance), and while some of the mystical/philosophical homilies advanced by the screenplay simply sound banal, there's no denying Boorman's commitment to the cause of freedom, nor his assured handling of the scenes depicting the larger chaos of a beautiful land torn apart by violence. Illuminating fare.

Author: GA 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

  • Giuseppe Paolo Mazzarello said...
    Posted on Jan 18 2008 08:33 PATRICIA PLAYS DEMOCRACY'S ENIGMA
    Ancient Greece was a land of merchants and sailors. Sometimes it was at war, but there was democracy. America was born as land of hard work and opened to international markets. Sometimes there was violence but also democracy. Patricia is a young American doctor. At home her husband and son have been killed by criminals. So she is going on a journey in Myanmar, the former Burma. In Rangoon she embraces the cause of the democratic opposition to the military regime. She leaves from Rangoon with a local former teacher, a middle-aged man. The teacher's car breaks; Patricia twice misses her passport, wears local dresses and they are in serious trouble. The teacher is wounded in the chest, Patricia kills a soldier and obtains the drugs to treat her companion. She continuously dreams of her former family. Myanmar is plunged in an underdeveloped economy and in a local Buddhist culture. The landscape is taken up by rain, woods and rivers. The Patricia's party manages to go beyond the border between Myanmar and Thailand. She will work as a doctor in wartime in that border land. In Myanmar a young woman candidate will win the elections but the military will stay in power. One hopes a young doctor can give that people some international culture.
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Cast & crew

Director: John Boorman

Producer: John Boorman, Eric Pleskow, Barry Spikings

Cast: Patricia Arquette, U Aung Ko, Frances McDormand, Spalding Gray, Tiara Jacquelina, Victor Slezak full cast

Duration: 99 mins


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