Review – Anna and the King

For anyone who ever wondered what The King and I would be like without the musical numbers, here’s the answer. Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat star as the famous schoolteacher and her equally famous boss in this big budget retelling of the old, familiar story. To be sure, events are stripped of much of their sugar coating. For example, things end not at all well for Tuptim and her beau, both of whom suffer a graphic fate. The location shooting also contributes to a greater sense of realism. Oddly enough, however, this version dishes up a substantially happier (and more than a little implausible) ending than the musical. The result is entertaining enough, but not quite the classic that the Yul Brynner version has become. Mildly amusing