http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_and_the_King
Plot
-Anna Leonowens(Jodie Foster) is an English schoolteacher who is a widow who has come to Siam with her son Louis(Tom Felton) to teach English to the 68 royal children of Rama IV(Chow Yun-fat).She is strong willed, intelligent, and this pleases the King, who wants to modernize the country to keep it safe from the threat of colonialism, while protecting many of the ancient traditions that has given Siam it's uniqueness. In order to win the favor of Britain, the King orders a sumptuous reception, and orders Anna to organize it. During the reception, the King verbally talks with Sir Kincaid(Bill Stewart), of East India Company, who accuses Siam of being a superstitious nation. At the end, the King dances with Anna
-Anna is enchanted by the royal children, particularly Princess Fa-Ying(Melissa Campbell). The littel girl identifies with the spirit of the playful monkeys who live in the trees of the royal garden. When suddenly she contracts cholera, Anna is asked to her chambers to give her a final farewell. She gets there just as Fa-Ying dies in Mongkut's hands and the 2 mourn the loss together. Later on, when the King finds out that one of the monkeys has "borrowed" his glasses, as his daughter used to do, he is consoled in his belief in reincarnation and the idea that Fa-Ying may be reborn as one of her beloved animals. Lady Tuptim(Bai Ling), the King's new favorite concubine, was already engaged when brought to the court. The King is kind to her, but she is unhappy and at last runs away, disguising herself as a young man and joining the monastery where her former fiancee, Khun Phra Balat(Sean Ghazi) lives. She is initially caned along with her Balat. She is tracked down and brought back to the palace, where she is imprisoned and initially caned along with Balat. However, because of Anna's outburst during this, Tuptim and Balat are beheaded in front of the entire court, despite the well held belief that the sentence is unfair in order to keep a reputation.
-The political aspects of the story are completely fictional; Siam is under siege from what looks like a British-funded coup d' etat against King Mongkut, using Burmese soldiers. Mongkut sends out his brother Prince Chaofa(Kay Siu Lim) and his military advisor General Alak(Randall Duk Kim) to investigate. However, it turns out that Alak is the man behind things and he turns on Chaofa and kills him. He flees to Siam into Burma where he summons and readies his troops to invade Siam and kill the King and his kids. With the help of Anna, the King manages to hide his kids and wives in a safe place, then goes to face Alak. The King and soldiers place high explosives on a wooden bridge high above the a canyon floor, as Alak and his army approach. The King orders his "Army" to stay back and rides to the bridge with only 2 soldiers. Alak, in front of his army, confront the King on the bridge
-Anna and Louis then create a brilliant deception from their hiding spot in the forest; Louis then uses his horn to replicate the sound of a bugle charge, as Anna "attacks" the area with harmless fireworks. The decoy works as the Burmese, believing the King has brought British soldiers, retreat in panic. Alak attempts to recall them, but does not work. He stands alone, but the King refuses to kill him, saying Alak shall have to live with his shame. As the King turns to ride back, Alak picks up a gun and aims at the King, but the explosives detonate, blowing the bridge to pieces and Alak along with it.
-Towards the end, the King has one last dance with Anna and realizes it's conceivable for one man to be pleased by only one woman. Anna returns to England with Louis. The King's son takes over and ends slavery.
Cast
