Some movies are better left without a remake, and thisdo-over of "The King and I" happens to be one of them. "Anna andthe King" tries hard, but is very unrealistic.
An English schoolteacher, Anna (Jodie Foster), is hired by the king of Siam (Chow Yun-Fat) toteach his many children. As soon as everyone gets to know each other, a civil warerupts between the king and his brother. Unbelievably, the teacher comes up witha plan to defeat the enemy, and everything works out perfectly.
The otheraspect of this story is the "romance." The king and his outspokenteacher flirt throughout the movie and dance once or twice, but never reallyconfront their feelings. I found it humorous the way they surprise each other atnight, as if neither can wait to see the other the next day. There is never areason for the other to show up, it just happens. The two almost kiss, but areinterrupted. The whole charade is ridiculous!
Essentially, the story isabout an English woman who argues with the king about everything. As you canimagine, this becomes dull after a while. You would expect the king to get fedup, but he does not. In fact, he likes her more because of it.
Thecharacters are annoying and the plot boring. You might learn a little somethingabout Siam, but the movie is not historically accurate, or worth the money torent.
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