Taglines: Truth has a witness.
Beyond Rangoon movie storyline. Laura is trying to pick up the pieces of her life after the murder of her husband and son, and goes on vacation with her sister to Burma. After losing her passport at a political rally, she is left on her own for a few days, during which time she falls in with students fighting for democracy. She and their leader, U Aung Ko, travel through Burma, whilst witnessing many bloody acts of repression by the dictatorship, in an attempt to escape to Thailand.
Beyond Rangoon is a 1995 drama film directed by John Boorman about Laura Bowman (played by Patricia Arquette), an American tourist who vacations in Burma (Myanmar) in 1988, the year in which the 8888 Uprising takes place. The film was mostly filmed in Malaysia, and, though a work of fiction, was inspired by real people and real events.
Bowman joins, albeit initially unintentionally, political rallies with university students protesting for democracy, and travels with the student leader U Aung Ko throughout Burma. There, they see the brutality of the military dictators of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and attempt to escape to Thailand.
The film was an official selection at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, where it was one of the popular hits of the event. The film may have had an impact beyond movie screens, however. Only weeks into its European run, the Burmese military junta freed Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi (depicted in the film) after several years under strict house arrest.
The celebrated democracy leader thanked the filmmakers in her first interview with the BBC.[citation needed] Suu Kyi was re-arrested a few years later, but Beyond Rangoon had already helped raise world attention on a previously “invisible” tragedy: the massacres of 1988 and the cruelty of her country’s military rulers.
Beyond Rangoon is also an original soundtrack music album that features in the film of Beyond Rangoon. The majority of the soundtrack was composed by the German composer Hans Zimmer and the album was released in 1999.
Beyond Rangoon (1995)
Directed by: John Boorman
Starring: Patricia Arquette, U Aung Ko, Frances McDormand, Spalding Gray, Tiara Jacquelina, Victor Slezak, Cho Cho Myint, Johnny Cheah, Haji Mohd Rajoli, Azmi Hassan
Screenplay by: Alex Lasker, Bill Rubenstein
Production Design by: Anthony Pratt
Cinematography by: John Seale
Film Editing by: Ron Davis
Costume Design by: Deborah Kramer
Set Decoration by: Eddie Fowlie
Art Direction by: Errol Kelly
Music by: Hans Zimmer
MPAA Rating: R for depiction of violent political oppression.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: August 25, 1995
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