Evenstarlight

This movie had me crying even after the credits rolled. It’s loosely based on the true story of an English schoolteacher who came to Siam to teach the King’s children, but was taught to live and love again instead. It’s about a powerful, commanding man who, for the first time in his life, encounters something he cannot control. It’s compelling, it’s grand, it’s unforgettable. The theme song, “How Can I Not Love You” perfectly captures the pain and poignancy of the most terrible choice two people have to make – to walk away from each other because the differences in their worlds make staying together impossible. Both lead actors (Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat) are perfect in their roles. The words too dangerous to be spoken, the emotions too forbidden to be shown nevertheless dominate the atmosphere whenever they are together onscreen. The tension is too palpable, too intense to ignore. The last scene, when Anna and the King waltz together before her departure, is filled with such restrained passion that it perfectly captures the bittersweetness of saying goodbye. It is told through the eyes of the King’s son watching from the distance, who says in the voice over “I was only a boy, but the image of my father holding the woman he loved for the last time has stayed with me through the years.” I say the same for myself.