The political power of “The Lady”
“The Lady”, the bio pic of the Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, was released in Britain in December but it was too political and too personal for it to attract a large audience. I saw it and was very moved and you can read my review here.
The film has still not been released in the United States – but it will be soon – and there are no plans to show it in Burma itself. But, in Burma, poorly copied pirated versions of the film are selling well and attracting attention as you can read here.
I remember the same thing happening with the film “Cry Freedom”, about the life and death of Steve Biko, which was made when South Africa was still gripped by apartheid – you can read my review here.
Cinema has a powerful role to play in not just entertaining but informing and when it does so about political injustice, or even about wider political issues and processes, the result can be compelling. I have reviewed a range of political films here.