The Lady (2011 film)

History of the movie

The Lady is a French-British biographical film directed by Luc Besson, starring Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi and David Thewlis[8] as her late husband Michael Aris.Yeoh called the film "a labour of love" but also confessed it had felt intimidating for her to play the Nobel laureate.

In 1947, when Aung San Suu Kyi is two years old, her father Aung San leads Burma to independence. 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. As an adult Suu Kyi goes to England, finds a loving husband, and has a happy family life. But in 1988 her mother's 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 who are 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. 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 and clearly wins the 1990 elections.

However, the Burmese military refuse to accept the result of the election and move to bring Suu Kyi under control. She and her family become separated when her husband and children are banned from Burma and she is put under a house arrest for more than a decade. 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. Yet their separation continues because Suu Kyi can neither attend the ceremony nor can her husband Michael Aris see her one last time before his early death.