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The whole thing might have been made for director Andy Tennant: a fairytale love affair set against an extravagantly exotic backdrop, far enough away from us to have a storybook quality (it really happened, but in the Far East and in the second half of the 19th century), yet close enough in theme and emotional relevance to have a real impact.
Thought you knew the story of the British governess who won the heart of the King of Siam? Well think again: Fox’s Anna and the King, starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat, opens up an epic new vista on one of the world’s most exotic love affairs.
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A former dancer (he was in the chorus of the movie version of Grease) and theatre student who cut his directorial teeth on television, Tennant came to prominence last year when he directed Ever After, the updated Cinderella story which was a summer sleeper in the US and went on to become a hit around the world.
But it wasn’t so much the storybook side to Anna and the King that attracted Tennant: it was the sheer scale of the romance. It was the chance to direct a lavish new (and very different) movie version of a famous true story - the story of how British governess Anna Leonowens went to Siam in 1862 to be tutor to the 58 (67 in some sources) children of King Mongkut, and how Anna ended up falling in love with a man whom she discovered to be one of South East Asia’s most enlightened rulers.
In the new Fox movie, Anna is played by Academy Award-winner Jodie Foster, with top Hong Kong star Chow Yun-Fat in a career-making role as the King. It turned out to be an inspired combination. “I never thought we would reach the casting heights we have on this film,” enthuses Tennant. “Jodie is both intelligent and beautiful. And Chow Yun-Fat has a charisma you don’t see with anyone else. He has a stillness, a presence, that is accessible. You believe him not only as a monarch, but as someone you might fall for.”
“If you have to send Dorothy to the Wizard of Oz,” says director Andy Tennant with star Jodie Foster, “you have to build Oz. And that is what we’ve tried to do.”
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And, above all, adds the director, you believe the two of them when they are together, which is the essence of any love story. “The real epic films - even when they are set in the past - work because there is a human element we can relate to, no matter what the time-frame,” he says. “It’s about people falling in love. Love is the ultimate riddle we never solve. That’s why we keep going to the movies.
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