(Feature) – The movie “The Lady,” which portrays the personal and political life of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her family, will be screened at the Toronto Film Festival in September and the International Film festival in Rome in October. French director Luc Besson cast Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi and David Thewlis played her British husband and Tibetan scholar Michael Aris. The film was shot in Bangkok in 2010.
The following are interviews with Burmese cast members who describe their experiences in making the movie:
Mon Mon, cast as a close aide of Aung San Suu Kyi
I acted in was cooking and preparing meals in the kitchen with sweat covering my body. The scene involved entertaining guests including her father’s colleagues, visitors from the embassies, writers, student leaders and people who came to her home to greet her when she came back from England.The next scene I played in she was reading a book while I was drying the dishes. Then I ironed her clothes and helped her put on an orchid when she was leaving for an organizational tour. Then I carried her bag to the car and said goodbye.
The electricity was off when the news came about the Nobel Peace Prize so I brought in dry cells batteries and we listened to this news with a transistor portable radio. She was elated and played the piano at home (under house arrest) while I was standing beside her.
They used lights for a day scene at nighttime. Similarly they used heavy and dark drapes in the room for a night scene in daytime. They also used artificial rain in shooting.
Michelle Yeoh helped me while shooting this film. In the first scene, when the camera panned on me, she smiled at me from behind the camera to make me smile. In this way, she helped me a lot.
(Mon Mon was a supporting actress with Michelle Yeoh in more than 10 scenes. She also played in a radio play broadcast by the BBC Burmese service for an HIV/AIDS awareness programme.)
Aung Kyaw, played an army major
In one of my scenes, an army captain ordered Daw Suu not to advance or he would shoot her during her organizational tour in Danubyu. But Daw Suu continued walking then I ordered the captain not to shoot her when he issued an order to shoot.
I felt an inner feeling of not wanting to shoot her when I played my role in the film. Then I made a mistake. I tried again and the director allowed me to say extra words in the scene. Then I could play my role after getting the right mood and the extra words.
I asked the seasoned cast members for advice to avoid mistakes. I was still surprised when the sound of the bullets passed me very close even though they didn’t use live fire. So I made mistakes at first. I had to try 9 or 10 times in shooting this scene.
They built perfect sets even for a small room. The settings are so good. The scene when Daw Suu walked to the crowd of people was messy and untidy. But when I looked at the photos of this event, I found this setting was perfectly good and precise.
They used remote control for recording. Similarly their lighting system was perfect unlike the poor quality in our Burmese film industry. In our Burmese film industry people usually focus their light on the main actors and actresses. But in this film, they emphasized only natural lighting.
Their concept of photography and lighting is quite different from our Burmese film industry.
(He played Kywet Nee in the BBC Burmese Service HIV/AIDS awareness programme under the title “Thapyay Gone village” and directed the play)
U Agga, played the role of Senior-General Than Shwe
Senior-General Than Shwe went to General Ne Win to present the passport of Michael Aris and took responsibility for settling Daw Suu’s case. I played this role.
I sat with about 14 fellow generals in the presence of Michael Aris and asked for his passport. We had to shoot again and again about 23 times as many supporting actors made mistakes.
In another scene, Japanese economic advisers met and discussed international business with Senior-General Than Shwe.
The scene was shot in Paris. They took me there at their expense because the person who would play the role of the Japanese consul lived in London, and he could not come to Bangkok because of his busy schedule. At that time the shooting crew had to go back from Bangkok and they didn’t have much time.
The scenes and settings were like paintings. The lighting and tone were clear and perfect.
(U Agga was the only supporting Burmese actor who had a role in Paris. He also played in the BBC Burmese Service radio play “Thapyay Gone Village” as village headman.)
Daw Myint, another close personal aide of Aung San Suu Kyi
I played an intimate and close aide of Aung San Suu Kyi’s family since the time of her parents. Most of the scenes were indoors.
I’ve never seen Michele Yeoh face to face before. When I saw her in shooting at close range, I was surprised how much she resembled Daw Suu. Her acting in this film was prefect.
The film crew used a helicopter in a mass rally scene. There were about 2,000 people in this scene shot in the big field. As an aide, I stayed very close to Daw Suu behind the stage. I stood on the ladder behind the stage.
I felt as if I were really in a mass rally when I saw the big crowd in this scene. Then I realized I was crying.
(Daw Myint played the role of Than Yin, mother of Kywet Nee and Kywet Phyu, in the BBC Burmese Service radio play “Thapyay Gone Village.”)
Nyi Lay Htet, played a National League for Democracy (NLD) party youth member
I played the role of an NLD youth. I accompanied Daw Suu in her meetings, mass rallies and talk shows during the film. This was my first film experience, and I was happy to have a part in the film.
