| Beyond Rangoon | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Boorman |
| Written by | Alex Lasker Bill Rubenstein |
| Produced by | John Boorman Sean Ryerson Eric Pleskow Barry Spikings |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | John Seale |
| Edited by | Ron Davis |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 99 minutes [3] |
| Country | United States[1][2] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $23 million[4] |
| Box office | $14.7 million[4] |
Beyond Rangoon is a 1995 drama film directed by John Boorman about Laura Bowman (played by Patricia Arquette), an American tourist who vacations in the country of Burma (now known as 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 dictatorship of the Ne Win Regime and attempt to escape to Thailand.
The film was an official selection at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.
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.[5] 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.[6]
- ^ "Beyond Rangoon". British Film Institute. London. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ^ Kaye, Don. "Beyond Rangoon (1995)". Allmovie. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ^ "BEYOND RANGOON (12)". British Board of Film Classification. May 15, 1995. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ^ a b Klady, Leonard (January 22, 1996). "Big clicks from little flicks". Variety. p. 1.
- ^ James, Caryn (25 August 1995) "Film Review: Sad Tourist Trapped In Burma" Archived March 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine The New York Times
- ^ Bailie, Stuart (15 November 2010) "The Rangoon Show" Archived February 25, 2022, at the Wayback Machine BBC News