Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Anna and the King (1999): Dir: Andy Tennant / Cast: Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton, Randall Duk Kim: Rehash of The King and I right down to its tiresome relationship. Someone must have gotten bored and suggested, "Let us make the umpteenth version of The King and I, only give it a different title in an attempt to fool people into thinking that we came up with someone original!" Jodie Foster plays a school teacher named Anna who is assigned to teach the King's children. Chow Yun-Fat plays the King in a departure from his action roles. Structure is so boring that cable channels should replace it with beer commercials before the forgiving climax where Anna tells the King to remove the stick from his ass. Director Andy Tennant does his best. He previously made Ever After: A Cinderella Story as well as the dreary It Takes Two, which in itself is a rehash of The Parent Trap. Foster is one of the most dependable actresses in the business but she is playing a role so xeroxed that all she can do is recite what has been done before. Yun-Fat is known as an action star but here he plays his most boring role. Supporting actors play host to a bunch of stereotypes. Also with Bai Ling and Tom Felton who also get to weigh in on every other stereotype presented here. Excellent art direction within a film that changes nothing but its title. Score: 2 / 10

I have seen "Anna and the King of Siam" with Irene Dunne and Rex Harrison and loved it! Totally recommend it to classic movie fans! I was never a huge fan of "The King and I" though it is lovely to look at and I love Deborah Kerr. I've intended to watch "Anna and the King" for some time, and it happened to come on HDNET movies this weekend. Thankfully, I recorded it. On the first watch, it quickly became one of my most romantic films of all time! I know it's much more fiction than fact, but good movies usually are to me. This was lavish, beautifully photographed, had a lovely score, had enough action to build suspense, and, wow, did Jodie Foster and Yung-Fat Chow (they've reversed his name) have palpable chemistry. Loved everything about it! I've watched it again several times already. I rarely do that. I also rarely give a film a 10, especially right away, but this one gets one for all the reasons above and more. I recommend it to anyone who loves period pieces, especially romantic ones.

I love this movie! I had seen the musical with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr before, and I love that as well - but in this movie one gets a more thorough, serious and realistic take on the subject, more meat on the bones so to speak."Anna and the King" is first of all a love story of course. This is the best way to make a moving and memorable love story: to show how the love between the man and the woman slowly grows, through little things. There is no sex in the movie, but in spite of that - or maybe because of that - it is one of the most erotic movies I have ever seen. In the 1940:s-1960:s the movie makers were experts in creating erotic tension in this way, by subtle means, understatement - but one rarely sees it in movies from the 1970:s and onwards."Anna and the King" is also a movie about cultural differences. It is fun to see how the King and his women and children learn from Anna... but also how she learns a little from them. Because the British do not do everything best in the world, and they did not in the 19th century either! :-)I also like that one can learn a bit about history, geography, ethnology, botany, zoology, etc. from this movie. And I love the beautiful photo of Thailand, and all the perfect details in architecture, costumes, jewelery, weapons, etc.. The dialog is intelligent, to the point and sometimes poetic, and the score is also perfect at all times.

first of all as I was born and raise in Thailand. this movie is extremely disturbing and inaccurate in every mannor. the thai language had been spoken in this movie by the Chinese actors and actresses almost incorrect and can't be understand and the 2nd, Lady Tabtim according to the thai history stated to be very attractive woman of that time because she has south Asian (Indian descent) large eyes and curl hair - that is the ideal of beauty of thai people in old time which influenced by the Indian literatures -Beiling the Chinese actress as lady tabtim is a very poor choice and 3 rd, there is no thai princess names fa ying - this word means princess.