Friday 30 December 2011

The Lady



Upon first hearing of the production of The Lady I was struck with excitement. After all, how many living people on this planet are more deserving of the cinematic biopic treatment than Aung San Suu Kyi? With such heavyweight talents as Luc Besson, Michelle Yeoh and David Thewlis involved the omens were good that her story would receive the respect and quality befitting of her status as one of the most important freedom fighting figures of her generation. However, the initial critical response seemed to suggest that the finished product has turned out to be a wasted opportunity. With many high profile western critics implying that Besson had delivered a lack lustre and mediocre film that offers little more than a watered down version of The Lady's life. 

With my expectations lowered I was pleasantly surprised to find that Besson may have actually created his finest work so far. While only time will tell whether his latest will continue to delight in the same way as Leon(1994) still does nearly 18 years later, I believe that it will indeed, due to the gravity of the story and the importance that Aung San Suu Kyi has played (and will hopefully continue to play) in the fight for democracy in one of the most oppressive countries in the world.