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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA (UITM) MELAKA

FACULTY OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES

DIPLOMA IN COMUNICATION AND MEDIA

BROADCASTING (BRO231)

MOVIE CRITIQUE

“THE LADY” 

PREPARED BY:

SHARIFAH NURISNADIA BINTI SYED MOHAMAD SHAHIDI

(2011816784) // MMC1105B

PREPARED FOR:

MISS WAN AZFAROZZA WAN ATHMAR

DATE:

2

ND

 AUGUST 2013.

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1.0 Introduction

This movie is based on a true story of the famous Nobel Prize winner Aung San

Suu Kyi who fights for the rights of democracy of Burma. The movie shows the

struggle of her trying to win back the country that had never done election for

almost 20 years by using peace as a way of dealing with the authorities as her

biggest weapon to win back all the support from her voters.

2.0 Analysing Theme

"The Lady" is a portrait in moral and physical courage, a sort of analysis of what

constitutes greatness. This movie is basically been surrounded by the bravery of

Suu Kyi of fighting for democracy in Burma. Her difficulties and struggles are well

portrayed in this movie of Suu Kyi’s long journey on becoming the next leader of

Burma as following the footsteps of her late father, Aung San.

Suu Kyi becomes a great woman because she has the opportunity and also

because she rises to it but the demands of greatness, on a day-to-day basis, is

not dramatic, but personal. In her case, it means enduring ghastly stretches of

loneliness, away from her husband and children, unable to communicate with

them by phone or letter making was shown well as to make this movie to be a

more dramatic, touched movie that gives a good sense to the viewer to show

them how hard Suu Kyi had sacrifice for her country in order to gain democracy

back in Myanmar.

3.0 Analysing The Story

3.1 Plot

3.1.1 Beginning

 Aung San is the general in Burma and the father of Aung San

Suu Kyi. Her father was asked to lead Burma to independence.

This movie starts out with Aung San who tells her a beautiful

story before he goes to work but soon afterwards, on 19 July

1947, he along with a group of his colleagues is assassinated by

a group of armed men in uniform. Then the movie continue in

the year 1998 showing Michael Aris, Suu Kyi’s husband who

found out that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and

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decide not to tell her wife who was back in Burma who he had

not seen for almost three years.

Then, the movie immediately starts a flashback back to ten

years before the incident. It shows Suu Kyi happily with her

family in Oxford, London but in 1988 itself, Suu Kyi’s mother s

Khin Kyi poor health forces her to return to Burma where her

father, Aung San, is still widely remembered. When she visits

her mother in the hospital in 1988, she meets many of the

people were wounded during the Tatmadaw's crackdown in

the 8888 Uprising. She realises that political change is needed

in Burma and is soon drawn into the movement to promote

reform.

3.1.2 Climax

She accepts the role of icon in support of self-determination by

the Burmese people and devotes herself to activities in support

of goals of greater political freedoms. Suu Kyi founds a political

party named National League of Democracy and clearly wins

the 1990 elections. However, the Burmese military refuse to

accept the result of the election and moved to bring Suu Kyi

under control. She and her family became separated when her

husband and children were banned from Burma and she was

put under a house arrest for more than a decade, together with

her strongest supporting colleagues were been put to jail and

treated badly.

3.1.3 Ending

Yet their relentless struggling for Suu Kyi's recognition outside

Burma is her guarantee she won't be forgotten and cannot

disappear unnoticed. Due to her family's efforts, she becomes

the first woman in Asia to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 

The ending of this movie is not a happy one as their separation

continues because neither can Suu Kyi attend the ceremony nor

can her husband, Michael Aris see her one last time before his

early death.

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3.2 Characters

The protagonist of ‘The Lady’ is obviously Aung San Suu Kyi herself that has

mainly been the main character of this movie since basically this movie was

somehow like a biography of her and the journey of her life. The selection of

Michelle Yeoh as the actor for the role of Suu Kyi is well picked in my opinion

since she does has a resemblance of Suu Kyi from her face and Michelle did

well as for this character is really hard to work it out since there are many

parts of her that needs to speak Burmese making it to be a challenge that she

has concur well and gave a good show in this movie.

Meanwhile, the antagonist character of this movie is Tan Shwe who was

played by the actor Agga Poechit. Agga has successfully play the role of the

mean, cruel politician in this movie as he shows that he was fearless to shot

down anyone from his own army of soldier which shows the good acting skills

of Agga that has convinced me in this movie that his selection to be Tan Shwe

was right and also the most importantly that Agga does resemble a lot of the

real Tan Shwe making it to be more convincing in ‘The Lady’.

3.3 SymbolismThe Lady is has many different elements that could be symbolised in this

movie such as the flower in her hair, the calm melody of the piano’s that was

played by Suu Kyi herself and so on but in my eyes, as the soon as the movie

starts until the end, the most promising element that was kept continuously

throughout the movie was Aung San, Suu Kyi’s late father. This movie was

about her fight against justice for her father, and there was a scene where a

soldier had almost shot her in the head as how her late father was killed, she

closed her eyes and then the flashback starts were it shows back her father

and her both closing their eyes and it brings out the symbolism of her courage

of Suu Kyi to run down military junta was basically by the strength of Aung

San that runs in her blood. Moreover, many scenes that show the photo of her

late father been carried by supporters during many rallies done by Suu Kyi

herself, makes it feel like the job that she is trying to do had been blessed by

her late father and it shows were she feels like she did well to make her father

proud of her for accomplishing such wonderful changes in the country.

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4.0 Analysing Genre

This historical drama movie is showing the best, beautiful and the calmness of Suu

Kyi in dealing with her life as the victim of democracy for the independency of

Burma. In order to win her country back, many incidents occur that were categorised

and been well known for Suu Kyi’s act of justice until she was the winner for the

Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 making all these incidents are based on a true story

incidents which best describe this movie as a historical drama genre.

5.0 Concluding Remarks

This movie has created a triangulation between the Union of Myanmar, Aung San

Suu Kyi and the concept of Democracy. As you can see from the movie how the

principles of democracy were clearly ignored by the military government

structured in Myanmar and how Aung San Suu Kyi, despite the threats

in her life and the blurry future for a democratic achievement, she still

continuously fight although she had almost gave up when the news of her

beloved husband at that time was going through cancer, and yet she still

f ight against the r ep re ssi on cau sed by he r o wn go ver nm ent . Also, thedirector, Luc Besson had cleverly put in action about the aspect of consideration of

how the People of Myanmar believed that Aung San Suu Kyi is the catalyst of

change that they should believe in that would alter the face of history forever.

Despite Aung San Suu Kyi’s capability of staging a full-blown war against

the government, she has always been true to her ideology of achieving

democracy in ways that wouldn’t require violence and it has clearly shown from the

movie which is a good movie to watch as to gain knowledge on Burma struggle for

freedom and how we Malaysian should be thankful for the peaceful country now we

live in and that we all should cherish it well.

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6.0 References

C. Robbie (2011) The Lady, Review. Retrieved from

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/8982620/The-Lady-review.html

 A. O. Scott (2010) A Life and A Nation, Tightly Bound. Retrieved from

http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/movies/the-lady-by-luc-besson-set-in-

myanmar-stars-michelle-yeoh.html?_r=0

T. Ella (2012) ‘The Lady’; Self-sacrifice, For Her Country’s Sake. Retrieved from

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/12/150297416/the-lady-self-sacrifice-for-her-countrys-

sake