Brokedown Palace (1999)

Director:

Jonathan Kaplan

Writers (WGA):

Adam Fields (story) &
David Arata (story) ...

Release Date:

13 August 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

What is your dream? How far would you go? Who could you trust?

Plot:

Two women are arrested for smuggling while vacationing in Thailand.

Plot Keywords:

Thailand | Friend | Hong Kong | Lawyer | Smuggling

Cast

Claire Danes	...	Alice Marano
Kate Beckinsale	...	Darlene Davis
Bill Pullman	...	Hank Greene
Jacqueline Kim	...	Yon Greene
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Roy Knox
Daniel Lapaine	...	Nick Parks
Tom Amandes	...	Doug Davis
Aimee Graham	...	Beth Ann Gardener
John Doe	...	Bill Marano
Kay Tong Lim	...	Chief Detective Jagkrit
Beulah Quo	...	Guard Velie
Henry O	...	Emissary to Crown
Bahni Turpin	...	Jamaican Prisoner
Amanda De Cadenet	...	English Prisoner
Intira Jaroenpura	...	Prisoner Shub

Also Known As:

Two Girls (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, drug related material and some violent content.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Thai

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG (theatrical rating) | Finland:K-11 (2005) | Finland:K-12 (2000) | Taiwan:R-12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36385) | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Adam Fields Productions

Trivia:

Filmed in the Philippines due to the unfavorable portrayal of Thailand. This involved converting a mental institute to the prison and changing street signs from English to Thai.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the end of the tape that Alice sends to Hank, the tape visibly stops before the last few sentences of her narrative are heard.

Quotes:

[first lines]
'Yankee' Hank Green: I scheduled the hearing for the Burmese.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Brokedown Palace (#6.7)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Naxalite

Cold, hard truth

I'm a little surprised by the negative criticism this film is attracting.

I'm old enough to be the father of the two main characters; they seemed like accurately drawn teenage girls to me. And I've probably hung out with both of their fathers before. I've been to the Far East. I've stayed in both better and worse places than the girls stayed. I had the pleasure of seeing the inside of a police station after I was robbed. I'm glad I had no more direct exposure to the local judicial system than that; that was more than enough. Everything in this movie seems awfully familiar to me.

I think "Brokedown Palace" represents something pretty close to stark realism. It certainly reminded me of Asia.

Of course it's true that the attitudes of the girls often don't do much to improve their situation. But they are meant to be an example of what not to do overseas. And the portrayal of some of the Thais did make me uncomfortable. But then many of my own personal travel anecdotes don't paint a complimentary picture either.

This is a cautionary tale. An unfortunate consequence of too many people having too much money to spend these days is that you will find unescorted, unprepared, "streetwise", naive young people popping up in places where they have no business being. And when that happens, you end up with situations mirroring this movie.

I suspect people choose to denigrate this one because they are too embarrassed to accept how true it is, and how vulnerable they would be if placed in similar circumstances.