By Before shooting for Luc Besson’s The Lady began, it was Michelle Yeoh’s privilege to meet with the pro-democracy figurehead she would be portraying in the film. The Lady focuses on the personal sacrifices that Aung San Suu Kyi made when her political party won the Burmese elections, which was immediately nullified by military control. ‘The Lady’ as she is called, was placed under strict house arrest and put into an impossible situation that separated her from her family.
Hoping to meet with the Nobel Peace Prize winner once more, Michelle Yeoh attempted to enter Burma again, only to find herself deported. It’s no mystery why, as the film is set to pressure the corrupt government still ruling over the country. The National League for Democracy has since been declared illegal. This topic was brought to light previously, by 1995’s Beyond Rangoon, and that film’s release may have led to Aung San Suu Kyi being granted some personal liberation only three weeks later.
After more than twenty years since this story began, a film like The Lady is essential to renewing awareness, but shamelessly I admit being more invested in Luc Besson’s return to the director’s chair, even if it isn’t his comfort zone of French/European action hybrids. He has favored his role as a writer/producer for many years, citing exhaustion as the reason for his departure from the craft.
[Via The Guardian]