THE LADY: Michelle Yeoh is Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi in Luc Besson’s Bio Epic

Share/Save/Bookmark

THE LADY: Michelle Yeoh is Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi in Luc Besson’s Bio Epic
by Darius Kadivar
23-Mar-2012
 

The story of Aung San Suu Kyi as she becomes the core of Burma's democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris.

 

The Lady (2011) directed by Luc Besson, Starring Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis and Jonathan Raggett

 

The Lady - HD Trailer (2011) 

Plot:

THE LADY is an epic love story about how an extraordinary couple and family sacrifice their happiness at great human cost for a higher cause. This is the story of Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband, Michael Aris. Despite distance, long separations, and a dangerously hostile regime, their love endures until the very end. A story of devotion and human understanding set against a background of political turmoil which continues today. THE LADY also is the story of the peaceful quest of the woman who is at the core of Burma's democracy movement.

 

 

*******************************

*******************************

Debate with Cast & Crew 

*******************************

*******************************

 

Michelle Yeoh and Luc Besson Discuss 'The Lady,' Aung San Suu Kyi :

NEW YORK, December 11, 2011 — Actress Michelle Yeoh and Director Luc Besson, discuss the film The Lady, based on the life of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, after a screening of the film was introduced by director Ang Lee at Asia Society.

 

**********************

**********************

THE REAL LADY

**********************

**********************

Clinton & ASSK joint Press Conference:

 

Clinton - 'I Was Thrilled To Finally Meet Her' - msnbc news :

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with NBC's Kristen Welker about meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, who was persecuted for years for her pursuit of democracy but now planning to run for parliament.

 

The Lady on the Lake – Burma (Journeyman TV, Aug 15, 2011):


Australian Documentary on Suu Kyi first political trip since her release

 

 

 

***************

***************

THE LADY 

***************

***************

 

Yeoh's challenge in playing 'hero' Suu Kyi By Vincent Dowd

The Burmese pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi became famous around the world when she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. But even after her release last year from years of house arrest in Burma she remains enigmatic. Luc Besson's new film The Lady focuses both on the politics and on her 27 years of marriage.

When in November 2010 Aung San Suu Kyi was finally allowed her liberty by Burma's military rulers the news was greeted with delight and astonishment by the team filming The Lady in neighbouring Thailand.

"The cast downed tools and celebrated through the night to toast her freedom," says the screenwriter Rebecca Frayn. "Fact and fiction fused in the most extraordinary way."

By then Frayn had already been working on her idea for three years. She'd initially written what she calls a "small and pretty intimate" script focusing on the relationship between Aung San Suu Kyi and her British husband Michael Aris, who died of cancer in 1999.

 

But when Luc Besson came on board as director he wanted more of the political background so the material shot in Thailand included huge crowd-scenes and gave the military more prominence. "Luc wanted an epic sweep, almost like an old-style David Lean film," says Frayn.

No major script changes were contemplated after Aung San Suu Kyi's release but the question arose of who should go to Burma finally to meet the woman whose extraordinary life had inspired the script.

In the end the Burmese authorities allowed only one visa - for the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Michelle Yeoh, who convincingly takes the central role.

"She had been a hero to me for so long," says Yeoh, who was born in Malaysia. "Both because she's an Asian and as a woman. When I heard about Rebecca's script I really campaigned to get the part. But I never thought I'd get to talk to the real person.

"When I met her in Burma my performance was mainly in the can. It wasn't a time for lots of research and we hardly spoke about the film. But her younger son Kim was in Rangoon too so I saw that very close family dynamic."

The Lady concentrates on the years 1988 to 1999 and, as Frayn always planned, on the effect on her family of Suu Kyi's increasing role in politics.

 

'Devout Buddhist'

 

Frayn says one of the challenges was to give audiences the information they need to understand the political background, without creating a dry history lesson.

Aung San Suu Kyi's father Aung San, assassinated when she was two, is often seen as the chief architect of Burmese independence from British rule.

His daughter studied in India, the US and Britain. In 1972 she married the British academic Dr Michael Aris: they had two sons, Alexander and Kim, and for 16 years she lived something like a normal life in Oxford.

In 1988 she returned to her homeland to take care of her ailing mother. Increasingly drawn into politics, she was first placed under house arrest in 1989 and spent 15 of the next 21 years deprived of her liberty.

Suu Kyi didn't see her husband for the last four years of his life and there were also periods of years when she did not see their sons. She had been sure that if she left Burma the government would never let her back in. The huge pressures created within the family form the film's backbone.

Yeoh has thought hard about where Suu Kyi's resolve comes from. "I think being a devout Buddhist is one important influence. And she's spoken about the importance to her of Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence.

"I think the key person in her life was the mother: She instilled great values of duty to her country. I tried to remember all that in preparing the role. You have to feed your soul the way she fed hers.

"It had been difficult for her to marry a foreigner. The regime in Burma used that against her - always saying she knew nothing about her own country.

"But I think Michael Aris always understood her sense of duty and when she left Oxford it wasn't just a single person's decision."

Twin bond

Frayn admits the huge personal strength of Suu Kyi was itself a problem when she began her script.

"It's more straightforward to make a sinner compelling than a saint. Where are the vulnerability and the human foibles?"

The Aris family was initially unconvinced about the project, says Frayn. "A big breakthrough was when I realised that Michael Aris has a surviving identical twin, Anthony (both played in the movie by David Thewlis).

"I emailed Anthony and when he discovered I'm the mother of identical twins he thought I might understand their relationship. Then when I actually met Anthony the whole thing started to come together for me imaginatively."

Now Frayn and Yeoh can only sit back and see if audiences take to this engrossing personal story against the background of a troubled nation far away.

"Burma can be a hard place to understand," says Yeoh. "But I think a little of the opaqueness is going, slowly. Even in the last few weeks we see signs of reform. Without transparency there's no democracy and that's what we hope for. The people deserve it."

And has Aung San Suu Kyi seen the movie?

"Not yet," says Yeoh. "I know she would say, 'Oh why would anyone watch a film about me?' But we didn't make it for her. We made it for the rest of the world so they'll understand and maybe want to do something to help people in Burma."

Related Blogs on Asian Regimes:

Nuclear Seeking Oxford Educated Monarch of South Pacific Kingdom dies



LESE-MAJESTY: Thailand jails US Citizen Joe Gordon for royal insult

KINGDOM OF HAPPINESS : Bhutan King Marries Commoner Bride in Elaborate Ceremony

MODERNITY & TRADITION: Shah of Iran meets Japan's Hirohito (1958)

Japan’s Emperor Akihito Speaks To Nation In Rare TV Speech

ROYALTY ON SCREEN : Akira Kurusawa’s 1980 Palme D’Or Film "Kagemusha"

ROYALTY ON SCREEN: Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor" (1987)

Related Blogs:

PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: Dominic Cooper takes on Saddam's son & his double


PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: George Clooney & Ryan Gosling in "Ides of March"

PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland"

PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: French President Sarkozy's Biopic 'The Conquest'

PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: Josh Brolin as Bush in Oliver Stone's"W." 


PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: Anthony Hopkins in Oliver Stone's "NIXON" 


PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: Kevin Costner tackles Cuban Crisis in "Thirteen Days"

CAMELOT CANCELED: History Channel cancels The Kennedy mini-series under Family Pressure

PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: Robert Redford's "The Conspirator"

PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: John Travolta in "Primary Colors" (1998) 


PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: Henry Fonda vs Cliff Robertson in "The Best Man" (1964)

YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (FOR Soraya Ulrich & Hamid Dabashi)

Share/Save/Bookmark

more from Darius Kadivar
 
Darius Kadivar

Burma's Pro democracy leader Suu Kyi to give her Nobel speech

by Darius Kadivar on

Suu Kyi to give her Nobel speech (bbc)

 

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to give her Nobel speech in Norway, more than 20 years after the Nobel Peace Prize.


Darius Kadivar

Coca-Cola announces Burma return

by Darius Kadivar on

Coca-Cola announces Burma return(bbc)

 

 

Coca-Cola says it will resume business in Burma after 60 years, following a US decision to suspend investment sanctions.


Darius Kadivar

Khob Presidenteh Mahboub Shirin Khanoum Halah Cheeh Meegy ? ;0)

by Darius Kadivar on


Darius Kadivar

Suu Kyi to receive Nobel after 21 years

by Darius Kadivar on

Suu Kyi to receive Nobel after 21 years (cnn)

 

Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday left Myanmar on a whirlwind 16-day European trip that will include her acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize that she won in 1991.

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Suu Kyi will address International Labor Organization in Geneva Thursday
  • She will deliver her Nobel lecture Saturday, 21 years after winning Nobel Peace Prize
  • Amnesty International to co-host concert with Dublin mayor, honor her with highest award
  • She will also address British lawmakers at Westminster, be hosted by French president

 


Darius Kadivar

UN to move staff from Burma state temporarily

by Darius Kadivar on

UN to move staff from Burma state (bbc)

The UN decides to temporarily relocate non-essential staff in Burma's Rakhine state, where tensions remain high after deadly unrest.


Darius Kadivar

Burma Unrest: New freedoms bring old tensions to the surface

by Darius Kadivar on

Burma burning (bbc)

 

New freedoms bring old tensions to the surface

 

 

Background: Burma unrest

What sparked the latest violence?

The rape and murder of a young Buddhist woman in Rakhine in May set off a chain of deadly sectarian clashes.

Why has a state of emergency been declared and what does it mean?

A state of emergency allows the introduction of martial law, which means the military can take over administrative control of the region.

Who are the Rohingyas?

The United Nations describes Rohingya as a persecuted religious and linguistic minority from western Burma. The Burmese government, on the other hand, says they are relatively recent migrants from the Indian sub-continent.

Is there a risk this might escalate further?

Analysts say that communal tensions with a religious and sectarian tinge have the potential to spark wider unrest, which will worry the government.

 


Darius Kadivar

Emergency declared in west Burma

by Darius Kadivar on

Emergency declared in west Burma (bbc)

 

Burma's president Thein Sein has announced a state of emergency in the western state of Rakhine, following a week of sectarian attacks in the area.

A spate of violence involving Buddhists and Muslims has left 17 people dead and hundreds of properties damaged.

Trouble flared after the murder of a Buddhist woman last month, followed by an attack on a bus carrying Muslims.

Officials announced a curfew in four towns in the state earlier, expressing concerns about further clashes.

A state of emergency essentially allows the military to take over administrative control of the region.

 


Darius Kadivar

Burma police 'fire on' protesters

by Darius Kadivar on

Burma police 'fire on' protesters (bbc)

 

Protesters in the western Burmese town of Maung Daw clash with police over a sectarian dispute, with differing reports of casualties.


Darius Kadivar

Burma 'abandons nuclear research'

by Darius Kadivar on

Burma 'abandons nuclear research' (bbc)

 

Burma has abandoned research into nuclear power generation, its defence minister says.

The new government had "already given up all activities on nuclear issues", Lt Gen Hla Min told the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore.

In 2010, a defecting Burmese soldier and mechanical engineer accused his country of starting work on a nuclear-weapons programme.

But Hla Min insisted that the country had never pursued nuclear weapons.

Delegates said his remarks - spoken through a translator - were remarkably frank and an illustration of the reforms sweeping Burma, reported Reuters news agency.

Hla Min acknowledged that Burma's previous government had begun "academic studies" on nuclear technology.

But he insisted that "it was not for defence, it was not for weapons", and said the research had "not progressed much due to our constraints".

 


Darius Kadivar

Suu Kyi in historic foreign trip to Thailand

by Darius Kadivar on

Suu Kyi in historic foreign trip (bbc)

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives in Thailand on her first trip outside Burma in more than two decades.


Darius Kadivar

India PM in historic Burma visit

by Darius Kadivar on

India PM in historic Burma visit (bbc)

 

 

Manmohan Singh begins an official visit to Burma, the first by an Indian prime minister for 25 years, aiming to deepen trade and diplomatic ties.

 

Binding ties
  • British ruled Burma as part of colonial Indiafrom mid-19th Century to 1937
  • 1962: Burmese military junta takes over, expels Burmese Indians
  • 1993: India honours Aung San Suu Kyi with the Jawaharlal Nehru Award
  • 1998: New Indian government kick-starts rapprochement with junta
  • 2010: Than Shwe visits India

 


Darius Kadivar

Suu Kyi to make Thai forum visit

by Darius Kadivar on

Suu Kyi to make Thai forum visit (bbc)

Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to attend the World Economic Forum in Bangkok next week, leaving Burma for the first time in 24 years.


Darius Kadivar

S Korea president in Burma visit

by Darius Kadivar on

S Korea president in Burma visit (bbc)

 

President Lee Myung-bak is due in Burma - the first visit by a South Korean leader since a 1983 North Korean bomb attack in Rangoon that killed 21


Darius Kadivar

Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi gets passport

by Darius Kadivar on

 (bbc)Aung San Suu Kyi given passport

Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is given a passport for the first time in 24 years.


Darius Kadivar

Suu Kyi enters Burma parliament

by Darius Kadivar on

Suu Kyi enters Burma parliament (bbc)

 

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is sworn in as a member of Burma's parliament, a month after her party's sweeping victory in by-elections.


Darius Kadivar

UN chief Ban Ki-moon meets Suu Kyi in Burma

by Darius Kadivar on

UN chief meets Suu Kyi in Burma (bbc)

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon meets opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, on a visit aimed at encouraging more democratic reforms.


Darius Kadivar

EU suspends most Burma sanctions

by Darius Kadivar on

EU suspends most Burma sanctions (bbc)

 

The European Union has formally agreed to suspend sanctions against Burma for a year in recognition of "historic changes", officials say.

An embargo on arms sales, however, will stay in place, the EU Council said.

The EU had imposed measures against individuals and companies from Burma. It had also withheld some aid money.

The move comes after Burma's parliament re-opened amid a boycott by the opposition because of a row over the oath of office for MPs. 

 

 


Darius Kadivar

Burma's NLD in parliament 'boycott' over oath

by Darius Kadivar on

NLD in Burma parliament 'boycott' (bbc)

 

Burma's parliament opens today amid a boycott by the party of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi because of a row over the oath of office for MPs.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) want to swear to "respect", rather than "safeguard" the constitution, which they say is undemocratic.

The row comes as European Union diplomats meet to decide whether to suspend sanctions against Burma.

The 1 April by-elections saw Ms Suu Kyi and 42 NLD members elected as MPs.

The constitution was drawn up by Burma's former military junta. It reserves 25% of all seats in parliament for the military.

 


Darius Kadivar

Suu Kyi MPs in Burma parliament 'boycott'

by Darius Kadivar on

Suu Kyi MPs in Burma parliament 'boycott' (bbc)

 

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party will not attend Monday's re-opening of parliament in a row over the oath MPs should swear.

 

The party of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not attend Monday's re-opening of Burma's parliament because of a row over the oath of office for MPs.

Ms Suu Kyi was among 43 MPs elected from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in by-elections in April.

They want to swear to "respect", rather than "safeguard" the constitution, which they say is undemocratic.

The constitution was drawn up by Burma's former military junta.

"Only after the wording in the oath has been changed, will we be able to attend the parliament," Ohn Kyaing, NLD spokesperson and newly-elected MP, told BBC Burmese.

Burma has begun political and economic reforms in the past year, since a civilian-led government ended nearly 50 years of direct military rule.

 


Darius Kadivar

Japan to write off $3.7bn Burma debt

by Darius Kadivar on

Japan agrees Burma debt write-off (bbc)

 

Japan agrees to write off more than $3.7bn (£2.29bn) of debt to Burma as its president continues his first visit there.


AMIR1973

Shirin Ebadi is not worthy of carrying Suu Kyi's bags

by AMIR1973 on

Is Ebadi still denouncing Guantanamo and Palestine in her Nobel Speech while opposing sanctions against the IRI and lauding Iranians' greater level of "political freedom" since 1979?


Darius Kadivar

Burma's Suu Kyi 'to visit Britain, Norway'

by Darius Kadivar on

Suu Kyi 'to visit Britain, Norway' (bbc)

 

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to travel abroad for the first time in 24 years, suggesting she has growing confidence in reforms.


Darius Kadivar

Cameron, Suu Kyi call for suspension of sanctions

by Darius Kadivar on

Cameron, Suu Kyi call for suspension of sanctions (France 24)

 

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, who arrived in Burma Friday for talks with the country's leaders, issued a joint call alongside opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to suspend sanctions against the former pariah state.


Darius Kadivar

David Cameron calls for Burma sanctions to be suspended

by Darius Kadivar on

Suspend Burma sanctions, UK PM says (bbc)

 

 

Economic sanctions against Burma should be suspended in recognition of the changes taking place there, says the UK prime minister.


Darius Kadivar

Cameron praises Burma's 'courage to reform'

by Darius Kadivar on

Cameron praises Burma's 'courage to reform' (bbc)

 

David Cameron has praised the Burmese government for its willingness to introduce reform.

Ahead of a trip to Burma on Friday, the UK prime minister told an audience in Indonesia "where they have the courage to reform, we have the courage to respond."

Mr Cameron's visit will be the first by a major Western leader in 50 years.

It comes amid increasing calls for the easing of sanctions against Burma. 

 

 


Darius Kadivar

UK PM David Cameron arrives in Burma for historic trip

by Darius Kadivar on

UK PM makes historic Burma visit (bbc)

 

David Cameron becomes the first British Prime Minister in more than 60 years to visit Burma as he arrives in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.


Darius Kadivar

US set to relax Burma sanctions

by Darius Kadivar on

US set to relax Burma sanctions (bbc)

 

The US announces that it will ease sanctions against Burma, in response to historic by-elections which saw the opposition make gains in parliament. 


Darius Kadivar

Suu Kyi eyes 'new era' for Burma

by Darius Kadivar on

Suu Kyi eyes 'new era' for Burma (bbc,VIDEO)

 

Aung San Suu Kyi says she hopes Sunday's by-elections marked the start of a new era for Burma, as she hails a "triumph of the people".

 


Darius Kadivar

Suu Kyi 'wins landmark election'

by Darius Kadivar on

Suu Kyi 'wins landmark election' (bbc)

 

Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi wins a landmark by-election, her party claims, as the country's tentative political reforms are put to the test. 


Darius Kadivar

Burma poised for milestone vote

by Darius Kadivar on

Burma poised for milestone vote (bbc)

 

Voters in Burma go to the polls shortly for by-elections set to be the most open in decades, with Aung San Suu Kyi among those standing.