The Lady (Luc Besson, 2011): France/UK

Reviewed by Seth Lawyer. Viewed at AFI Fest 2011.

The Lady is a film about Aung San Suu Kyi, a true leader in Burma’s movement towards Democracy.  This a true story about a lady who eventually won the Nobel peace Prize for her efforts in Burma.  She left a family back in Europe to tend to her ailing mother only to come to a grief stricken country far worse than when she had left.   When Aung was just a child her father was the leader of the movement but was shot and killed by his opposition.   No one had the courage to stand up to the tyrannical government and when Aung came back to her homeland for her sick mother she was greeted with hope and desperation from her native people and was urged to lead the movement because she was the daughter of a great leader and had the people behind her.  A great story of the Burmese revolution that leaves you inspired, sad and thankful all at the same time.