Poster and Trailer for Luc Besson's The Lady Starring Michelle Yeoh
Posted 08.24.11 by BrentJS
The first teaser poster and trailer for French director Luc Besson's new movie, The Lady, have been released online. Written by Rebecca Frayn, The Lady is based on the inspiring true story of Burmese political leader Aung San Suu Kyi (played by Michelle Yeoh), who spent 15 years under house arrest for her relentless non-violent campaign for democracy.
The Lady was shot quietly, under the fake working title "Dans la Lumière," because Suu Kyi was still under house arrest when it went into production in October of last year and Besson did not want jeopardize her release, which was scheduled for the following month. The teaser poster was designed by celebrated artist Shepard Fairey and is based on his own design for a poster celebrating the real Aung San Suu Kyi, who has become an icon for democracy.
The Lady will have its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 12th. Here are the "programmer's notes" from the TIFF website:
In 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi returned to her native Burma from Oxford, where she had lived for many years. Her visit was prompted by news of her mother’s deteriorating health, but the country was in an uproar. Burma’s military leader, General Ne Win, stepped down, and protestors quickly filled the streets of Naypyidaw to demand democratic reform. Those protestors were beaten and their message suppressed. The charismatic and politically engaged Suu Kyi, whose father was a martyr for Burmese independence, found herself called upon to lead Burma out from under the shadow of military dictatorship as the General Secretary of the newly formed National League for Democracy. In 1990, a general election was held and the NLD won, but Suu Kyi was held under house arrest by the military junta. She remained a prisoner in her own home for most of the next fifteen years.
Filmed largely in Thailand and Burma, whose beautiful cities, fecund jungles and diverse cultures fill the screen with dynamic colour and rich detail, The Lady tells the story of Suu Kyi’s simultaneous triumph and tragedy. Michelle Yeoh eloquently embodies Suu Kyi’s tranquil defiance and wisdom — yet her political struggle is only half of the story. Played with great tenderness by David Thewlis, Michael Aris was Suu Kyi’s British husband and tireless advocate, and he is the film’s second protagonist. Through the months and years he and Suu Kyi were unable to be see one another, Aris worked to raise awareness of injustice in Burma and campaigned for his wife’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize (which she won, though she was unable to accept it in person), all the while suffering her absence, struggling with his own illness and trying his best to be a good father to their two sons.
At once epic and intimate, disturbing and galvanizing, The Lady celebrates the struggle of a people and the difference that a single strong-willed individual can make in the world.