Beyond Rangoon

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Beyond Rangoon

Directed by	John Boorman
Produced by	Executive Producer: Sean Ryerson
Written by	Alex Lasker Bill Rubenstein
Starring	Patricia Arquette Frances McDormand U Aung Ko Johnny Cheah Adelle Lutz
Music by	Richard Harvey Hans Zimmer
Cinematography	John Seale
Editing by	Ron Davis
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	August 25, 1995 (USA)
Running time	100 min.
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Beyond Rangoon is a 1995 drama film directed by John Boorman about Laura Bowman (played by Patricia Arquette), an American tourist who vacations in Burma (Myanmar) in 1988, the year in which the 8888 Uprising takes place. The film was mostly filmed in Malaysia, and is based on a true story.

Bowman joins, albeit initially unintentionally, political rallies with university students protesting for democracy, and travels with the student leader U Aung Ko throughout Burma. There, they see the brutality of the military dictators of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and attempt to escape to Thailand. The film's tagline is "Truth has a witness".

[edit] Plot

Laura Bowman's son and husband were brutally murdered during a break-in. She is convinced by her sister to travel to Burma as a means of escape. There she discovers the brutal suppression of democracy under General Ne Win, and receives her first glimpse of Aung San Suu Kyi, the embodiment of hope for a peaceful future in Burma.

When she loses her passport during a rally she gets detained in Burma. While doing last minute sightseeing she becomes involved with a former professor and various pro-democracy students, monks, and others. This puts her on the military government's enemies list.

Much of the film involves evading soldiers while attempting to make their way out of the country, which they eventually do. Laura, who is a doctor, decides to remain in Thailand treating refugees fleeing oppression.

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: Beyond Rangoon (Soundtrack)

Beyond Rangoon is also an original soundtrack music album that features in the film of Beyond Rangoon. The majority of the soundtrack was composed by the German composer Hans Zimmer and the album was released in 1999.