JOHN BOORMAN

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB

United Kingdom/USA, 1995.  Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures Corporation.  Screenplay by Alex Lasker, Bill Rubenstein.  Cinematography by John Seale.  Produced by John Boorman, Eric Pleskow, Sean Ryerson, Barry Spikings.  Music by Hans Zimmer.  Production Design by Anthony Pratt.  Costume Design by Deborah Kramer.  Film Editing by Ron Davis.  

A lot of potential is wasted in this true-life John Boorman-directed drama, about a recently widowed doctor (Patricia Arquette) travelling through Burma with her globetrotting sister (Frances McDormand) as a way to deal with her grief. When her sister goes on ahead to another place, Arquette decides to stick around and enjoy her surroundings a little bit more, but what she thought was paradise ends up being terror when the famed 1988 massacre of Burmese students and monks happens as a result of military dictatorship.

Now, the vacation has become an escape operation, and Arquette and her personal tour guide (U Aung Ko) are forced to narrowly escape with their lives if they can.

Great story, marvelous set-up, but it dwindles to nothing too spectactular by the end. It’s a nice change of pace for Arquette though, and she handles it wonderfully.

Cannes Film Festival:  In Competition