Movie · 1999 · Drama, Romance, History · 2h 28m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 2.9/10 (54.6K ratings)
Overview
The story of the romance between the King of Siam (now Thailand) and the widowed British school teacher Anna Leonowens during the 1860s. Anna teaches the children and becomes romanced by the King. She convinces him that a man can be loved by just one woman.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.9/10
IMDb: 6.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.17/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 52%
Metacritic: 56
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Andy Tennant
Production
Fox 2000 Pictures, Lawrence Bender Productions
Cast
Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton, Syed Alwi, Randall Duk Kim, Lim Kay Siu, Melissa Campbell, Keith Chin, Mano Maniam, Shanthini Venugopal, Deanna Yusoff, Geoffrey Palmer, Ann Firbank, Bill Stewart, Sean Ghazi, K.K. Moggie, Dharma Harun, Harith Iskander, Yank Kassim
Curator Review
Verdict
A lush, old-school historical romance with strong star chemistry and handsome production design, but it’s also weighed down by a familiar prestige-movie stiffness and a story that now reads as politically and culturally awkward. Worth it if you want a glossy period melodrama with court intrigue and emotional restraint; less so if you want sharp historical insight or a fully convincing romance.
Best for
Fans of sweeping period dramas and palace-set romance
Viewers who enjoy charismatic lead performances over historical precision
People curious about late-90s Hollywood prestige epics
Skip if
You’re sensitive to colonial-era storytelling and cultural stereotyping
You want a fast-moving or deeply nuanced historical drama
You dislike ornate, emotionally restrained romances
Overview
Anna and the King is the kind of late-90s studio epic that arrives draped in silk, candlelight, and moral seriousness. It has scale, elegance, and a real sense of pageantry, with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat giving the material more poise than the script often earns.
Worth noting
What lingers most is the push and pull between attraction, diplomacy, and power. The film wants to be both a romance and a political drama, and that tension gives it some intrigue, even when the storytelling feels cautious and a little airless.
Bottom line
Seen now, the movie’s colonial framing and casting choices are hard to ignore, and they complicate whatever sincerity the film is aiming for. Still, if you approach it as a glossy, old-fashioned prestige romance, it has enough craft and star presence to hold attention.
Top Letterboxd reviews
marsh boy (1.5★) · 261 likes
Watched this for Asian Arts class and we’re to write a reflection about this so i took a few notes along the way to write down my thoughts just like an intelligent student should:
-The physical and symbolic division of the aristocrats and proletariats-Anti-colonialism -East and west culture influence -The king of Siam played by a Chinese actor. wait what-baby tom felton cute-Wait, there's still 2:20:00 left??-Ah yes let’s talk about the monarchy-wow redeeming a… more
Zegan (4★) · 81 likes
Jodie Foster is a queen.
BrianNaas (3★) · 72 likes
Hopefully I have not broken the law here in Thailand by watching this film. Seriously. The 1956 version of this story starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr is in fact banned here and you can get in trouble for watching it. The Thai's take their Royal family very seriously. A tip for you should you ever visit the Land of Smiles - don't talk about the King. Not even a little bit. If you go to a movie theater, stand… more Hopefully I have not broken the law here in Thailand by watching this film. Seriously. The 1956 version of this story starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr is in fact banned here and you can get in trouble for watching it. The Thai's take their Royal family very seriously. A tip for you should you ever visit the Land of Smiles - don't talk about the King. Not even a little bit. If you go to a movie theater, stand… more
steviewigles (3.5★) · 58 likes
DID SOMEONE SAY DRACO MALFOY?
matt lynch (2.5★) · 51 likes
Icky orientalism at odds with clunky anti-colonialism. Lots of handwringing both about the destructive influence of the West and backwards Siamese custom. There's a really interesting push-pull to be found there, but it gets mostly bumped aside in favor of a lushly production-designed but generally bland late 90's bit of Hollywood pageantry. And then there's the sticky race-bending of the cast, not too questioned at the time but something that stands out a bit sorely now, creating another weird conundrum in that Chow's most potentially rich American role (he's very good, too) is one in which this great Chinese actor plays a Thai king.