This document provides a summary of the 1995 film Beyond Rangoon. It describes the plot, which follows an American woman named Laura Bowman who gets stranded in Burma after witnessing pro-democracy protests. She meets a professor who helps her escape through the jungle as they evade the military dictatorship. The film was filmed in Malaysia and helped raise awareness about human rights abuses in Burma under military rule. It received mixed reviews from critics but was popular at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.

1. BEYOND RANGOON

2. -The plot
In 1988, an American woman, Laura Bowman, decide to go with her sister on a
tourist travel to Myanmar after finding her husband and son murdered by burglars.
During the trip, she can´t forget them.
One night, staying there in Rangoon, the capital of Myanmar, Laura can see Aung
San Suu Kyi, the democratic leader and heroine for the Burmese people,celebrating in
the streets of Rangoon with crowds of people her democratic election winning, ending
with the Military dictarship of the General Ne Win. But she also observes how the
Militar Junta annulled the election and dispersed the crowd. That night she loses her
passport, so she can,t return with the tourist group and her sister to United States.
Then she meets a former university professor, U Aung Ko, who is a pro-democratic
activist, a group of students and friends of him, monks, persecuted people etc. This
put her on Junta´s enemies list. She is conscious of the brutally repression of the
Burmese Militar Junta against their own people.
Finally, Laura, U Aung Ko and the rest of the group evade the soldiers in the jungle
and flee the country. Laura, who is a doctor, decides to remain in Thailand treating the
refugees.

4. The characters
• Some of the characters of the film are:
• -Patricia Arquette—Laura Bowman
• -U Aung Ko—U Aung ko
• -Frances McDormand—Andy Bowman
• -Victor Szelak—Mr. Scott
• -Adelle Lutz—Aung San Suu Kyi
• -Kuswadinath Bujang—Colonel
• -Manisah Mandin—U Aung Ko´s daughter
• Hani Mohsin Hanafi—Young monk
• -Johnny Cheah—Min Han
• -Spalding Gray—Jeremy Watt
• -Ye Myint—Zaw Win
• -Haji Mohd Rajoli—Karen father
• -Michael Pickells--Laura´s husband

6. -The setting
The place and time setting are Myanmar in the 1988, the year in
which the 8888 Uprising and the annuled democracy elections take
place. But most of the film was filmed in Malaysia and it´s jungle, except
the scenes filmed in Rangoon, and also was filmed in the year 1995.
-Special effects and features
Some special effects of the film are the persecution of the militars to
Laura and U Aung Ko by car across the jungle, where U Aung Ko receives
a shot, and when all the group of refugees, Laura and U Aung Ko are
escaping of the country by a river, that is the border between Thailand
and Myanmar, while the militars are bombarding them. The film
duration is around 100 minutes .

8. -Why did it become so famous?
Beyond Rangoon is an American drama film directed by John
Boorman realesed on August 25, 1995, produced by Castle Rock
Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The language of
the film was English.
The budget of the film was 23,000,000$, and the earned money in
the box offices was 5,750,110$ in USA, and 14,700,000$ worldwide.
The sondtrack was composed by Hans Zimmer, and the album
realesed in 1999.
Beyond Rangoon was one of the most popular films of the 1995
Cannes Film Festival.
Beyond Rangoon is a film based on real and actual events, and
helped raise world attencion on a brutally and closed military
dictatorship that tortures and massacres the Burmese people.

9. REVIEW
-Critics
• -Characters: There haven,t been much critics of the charaters, but mainly has
said the characters were emblematic and acting was good.
• -Director: The italian film critic Tullio Kuzich said the film was marred by
certain directorial touches.
• -Summary: The international critical reaction was mixed. Time, Rolling Stone
and Entertainment weekly wrote not very good reviews, while the critic of The
New Yorker called the film a `fearless masterpiece’.
-Anecdotes
Beyond Rangoon is based on real events. The August 8, 1988, the
democratic elections were annulled by the Militar Junta, Aung San Suu Kyi,
who is depicted in the film, was put under house arrest, thousand of Burmese
were exiled and is estimated that 10,000 people died. Aung San Suu Kyi won
the Nobel Peace Price in 1991.
When the film was realesed in Europe, the Militar Junta freed Aung San
Suu Kyi, but put her under house arrest again a few years later. She was
definetily realesed in November, 2010.

10. Ne Win Saw Maung Than Shwe
(1962—1988) (1988—1992) (1992—2011)
Thein Sein Aung San Suu Kyi
(2011—Present)

11. -Why do you like it?
Beyond Rangoon is one of my favourite films because I like drama-action
political films, is a film based on real events, and I also like the places setting:
the city and an exotic East Asian jungle.