"The trip was Andy's idea. It was easier to say 'Yes' than argue. Always that way with my sister. She meant well. A touch of the exotic east would take me away from everything that reminded me of what had happened..."
So begins the film "Beyond Rangoon", about an emotionally troubled American who is urged by her sister to take a vacation in Rangoon, Burma to try and get over the devastating loss of her husband and child. While there, she becomes entertwined in very real political upheavel. The film depicts the marches and rallies and protests realistically, and shows massacres that are hard to watch, but need to be heard. The political upheavals that really happened in Burma in 1988 were never heard or talked about in the US, and needed to be. Aung San Su Kyi was a woman who was trying to bring Burma (Now Myanmar) to democracy, but was denied by the government. She still tried to lead her people to freedom, and the struggle still exists today. The film has powerful writing, directing, cinematography and acting. The absolutely chilling and powerful score by Hans Zimmer lends riveting power to each scene, and fills triumphant moments with triumph. Patricia Arquette portrays the American, Laura Bowman, with depth, very frozen by the horrors of her loss, "I tried finding something in those stone statues, but nothing stirred in me. I was stone myself", but slowly she sees the meaning of her life and others in her journeys throughout Rangoon and beyond. A terrific film. And it needs to be watched. At home, and in history or government classes. **** stars.
