The New York Times by Dana Stevens
The movie keeps you at a distance; it is visually sweeping, and the history is fascinating, but the drama is rarely stirring.
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Thailand · 2001
3h 5m
Director Chatrichalerm Yukol
Starring M.L. Piyapas Bhirombhakdi, Sarunyu Wongkrachang, Chatchai Plengpanich, Johnny Anfone
Genre Drama, History, War
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
During the 16th century, as Thailand contends with both a civil war and a Burmese invasion, 15-year-old Suriyothai, the queen of King Mahachakrapat, rises up to help protect the glory of the Kingdom of Ayothaya. Based on actual events and the life of Queen Suriyothai.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
The movie keeps you at a distance; it is visually sweeping, and the history is fascinating, but the drama is rarely stirring.
Fun, fun, fun. [July/Aug 2003, p.26]
The characters are flat creatures of duty, and the film is more a tale of the collective will of a state than of the rugged individuals behind it.
Manages to build interest as it goes along, leading to a spectacular climactic battle with all those elephants.
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
Easy on the eyes and hard on the head, Suriyothai is absolutely unaffecting where it matters most, in the heart.
San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle
It's more interesting than it sounds. Besides the sheer spectacle, which is notable.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Ray Conlogue
What's singular is that it was funded by the current Thai royal family and directed by a royal prince, Chatrichalerm Yukol.
The fact that the story makes sense at all remains Coppola and his butchers' sole achievement.
Washington Post by Stephen Hunter
Huge, sprawling, and utterly absorbing.
The movie is both stunning on the level of visual pageantry and curiously inert as cinema.