East meets West: `Anna and the King`

"She was the first Englishwoman I`d ever met. And it seemed to me that she knew more about the world than anyone. "

And so are spoken the first words of "Anna and the King" (Fox, PG-13, VHS/rental). The time is 1862, in Bangkok, in the country known then as Siam. And she - being Anna Leonowens (Jodie Foster) - may well have known more about the world than anyone known to the speaker, Prince Chulalongkorn (Keith Chin), the eldest son of the king and heir to the throne.

Siam at this time was a country in transition, steeped in centuries of culture and tradition, yet becoming acutely aware that the outside world was pacing eagerly at its door. The English were in neighboring Burma, the French in Indochina. Anna is an Englishwoman raised for all but two of her years in India and now a widow of nearly two years. She travels to Siam with her young son, Louie, to teach the ways of the West to the children of King Mangkat (Chow Yun-Fat) - or Mongkut, depending on whether you read press materials or subtitles on the screen.

Anna is a bit shocked to learn that the king`s children number 69 - or 58, again depending on your source - from 26 wives. What starts as a great adventure is to become one of the great tragic love stories. What can be more tragic than two people denied the ability to express their mutual love? The king of a country and an Englishwoman - it could never be. Duty, tradition and culture are barriers too high to vault, even in the name of love.

"Anna and the King" is a sweeping cinematic epic in every sense. Lavish story, lavish characters, lavish scenery. From the rich Malaysian landscape, to the dazzling royal palace sets, to the cast of thousands, to the fiery encounters between a headstrong Englishwoman and a king accustomed to being treated as a god - this movie is a precious jewel. It is but a distant relative to the Broadway musical "The King and I." At times, the ideological clashes between East and West become an engaging dialectic.

The king is played with a warm mixture of regal stature, gracious wisdom, fierce steel and deep compassion by Asian action-film superstar Chow Yun-Fat. He is a man caught between two worlds and painfully aware that the old is quickly losing relevance. He must cling to tradition to rule and yet he must embrace the West to survive.

Anna is a woman who has shut out the world, after the death of her husband. Foster`s widow matches the king`s steel and sharp intellect.

"Most people do not see the world as it is, but as they are. A good king needs a broader view," is how she explains her presence to the king`s heir, a young man having difficulty being taught by a woman.

There are some delightfully scrappy scenes, as Anna and the males of the ruling family each establish position and territory in the beginning. Anna`s abrasive and haughty Englishness yields eventually to the grandeur and richness of Siam`s culture, even as the culture is broadening to encompass something so modern and foreign as an independent woman.

Western imperialism isn`t the film`s only catalyst. There is palace intrigue, family strife and tragedy (with one so large how could there not be?) and even a ripe battle or two. Not all Siamese want to embrace Western culture. As with any good family movie, this one has something for everyone - except Yul Brynner singing. And that`s probably a good thing.ALSO THIS WEEK:

"Sweet and Lowdown" (Columbia TriStar, PG-13, VHS/DVD) - Woody Allen does for `30s jazz what "This Is Spinal Tap" did for heavy metal music. His pseudo documentary traces the life of a jazz guitarist (Sean Penn in an Oscar-nominated role), who is perennially No. 2, behind the very real and great Django Reinhardt. Also stars Uma Thurman, Anthony LaPaglia, Gretchen Mol and James Urbaniak.

"Deuce Bigelow" (Buena Vista, R, VHS/DVD) - Saturday Night Live alumnus Rob Schneider plays a Loser-with-a-capital-L who cleans pools and generally mucks up his life, until one day he ends up apartment sitting for a male gigolo. When he destroys the guy`s pricey exotic fish tank, he naturally must put himself into the escort service business to earn back the bucks to replace it before the psycho gigolo returns home. Some funny moments, some raunchy ones, but it never goes as far as a Farrelly Brothers movie and that might be the problem. Schneider`s character is best in a supporting role.

"Gun Shy" (Buena Vista, R, VHS/DVD) - Kind of a twist on the mobster-in-therapy trend ("Sopranos"), Liam Neeson is an undercover DEA agent who enters therapy when his nerves begin to unravel. He falls for Sandra Bullock - and who wouldn`t? Oliver Platt is a psycho hit man. This comedy deserved better than the $1.5 million it earned at the box office, if for no reason other than it has a killer soundtrack.

"Liberty Heights" (Warner, R, VHS/DVD) - Barry Levinson has given us wonderful pictures based on his memories of growing up in Baltimore, "Diner" and "Avalon" specifically. Levinson returns to Baltimore and the 1950s for this latest installment in which he follows the fates of three Jewish men - a father and his two sons - coming of age in the non-Jewish world beyond the neighborhood. Cast includes Adrien Brody, Bebe Neuwirth, Joe Mantegna and Rebekah Johnson.COMING ATTRACTIONS:

July 4: Disney releases three titles in its "Gold Classic Collection" for the first time on DVD: "Mary Poppins," "Alice in Wonderland" and "Robin Hood."

Aug. 1: Five female friends approaching the age of 40 reflect on what it all means in "Women," through flashbacks, conversations, reflection and dramatic interaction.

Aug. 8: Disney is going straight to video with Part 3 of the "Toy Story" saga. This prequel, "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins," will be created using traditional animation techniques. Tim Allen returns as the voice of Buzz.

Aug. 15: Ensemble cast populates the gun-culture satire "It`s the Rage."

Aug. 22: Previously unseen R-rated version of sci-fi thriller "Supernova" starring James Spader, Angela Bassett and Lou Diamond Phillips. York Entertainment releases "Restaurant" several months after it got a private debut on the Blockbuster Video shelves.

Aug. 29: David Allen Grier in "3 Strikes," from the co-writer of "Friday" and producers of "Dumb and Dumber."

Just a Stone`s throw from here: The mega-collections are coming your way. Video Business magazine reports that Warner Bros. is packaging 27 titles into a "Clint Eastwood Collection," available Aug. 1, priced under $15 for VHS and under $25 for DVDs. Ten titles will be boxed into a single set. Meanwhile the Oliver Stone library - including "JFK" and "Wall Street" - is getting a digital buff and polish for DVD release. Nearly all of the director`s films will be a part of this 10-title collection, with the exception of "Platoon" and "Salvador," both owned by MGM.

At least six other studios are participating in this unprecedented package. Each DVD is enhanced with a commentary track by Stone, among other features. The iconoclastic director is also restoring hours of footage to the films.

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: Robert J. Hawkins