Aung San Suu Kyi is name that many of us have heard of.  Her father was a military general who wanted to bring democracy to Burma before he and other political leaders were murdered in a military coup.   She gets involved in the Burma Democracy Movement four decades later when she comes home to Burma to visit her dying mother.  Aung got married to a British man and moved with him to Oxford in the United Kingdom.  She raised two kids and he taught at Oxford.   When Aung San Suu Kyi gets involved in the Burma Democracy Movement, she and others (including her family) are tested as the Burma military government tries anything (except make her a martyr) to destroy the democracy movement.   She is separated from her family and sometimes even lives as prisoner in her own house in Burma for years.

 

THE LADY is the inspirational true story of a woman who tries to free her people from a military dictator.   Burma is still under military control.   Director Luc Besson and others secretly filmed in Burma to get a feel for the place while the actual film was shot in Burma with many Burmese refugees playing parts in the film.   Michelle Yoeh pulls off one of the best acting performances of her career as Aung San Suu Kyi while David Thewlis is her suffering husband.   THE LADY is as much about freedom as it is a love story of two people separated from each other not by choice (especially when Aung’s husband is diagnosed with prostate cancer and the Burma government denies his Visa into the country).    Even though Luc Besson is a great action film director and writer, he has created a moving and emotional tale that is on the same level as Steven Spielberg’s historical movies.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

THE MAKING OF THE LADY (about 27 minutes long) is a behind-the-scenes featurette with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew.

 

Also included is the theatrical trailer for THE LADY.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:   Luc Besson can’t stay retired from directing movies and I am glad THE LADY is one of those movies that convinced him to direct movies again.  Michelle Yoeh has a powerful performance in a tale about freedom and love.   If you love true stories, you will want to watch THE LADY.

 

This DVD review is (c)11-29-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com