Brokedown Palace (1999)

Two women are arrested for smuggling while vacationing in Thailand.

Director:

Jonathan Kaplan

Writers:

Adam Fields (story), David Arata (story)

Stars:

Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Pullman

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Inthira Charoenpura	...	Prisoner Shub (as Intira Jaroenpura)

Storyline

Alice and Darlene, best friends, decide to take a trip to Thailand to celebrate high-school graduation. While there, they are befriended by charming Australian rogue Nick Parks. Nick convinces them to take a weekend side trip to Hong Kong, but at the airport, they are busted for smuggling drugs. They are convicted in a show trial and sentenced to 33 years; in desperation, they contact Yankee Hank, an American lawyer based in Thailand who has been reported to be helpful if you've got the cash.

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | frame up | thailand | bangkok | lawyer | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Thai

Release Date:

13 August 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Two Girls

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,871,616, 15 August 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$10,114,315, 24 October 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures,Adam Fields Productions,Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Love Hewitt lost the role of Darlene to Kate Beckinsale because of scheduling conflicts.

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Goofs

When the girls are being escorted out of the airport, you can see a large crowd of people behind a waiting line rope. These are most likely local residents who clamored to get a glimpse of the movie while being filmed as all of them are clearly watching the scenario as it unfolds.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in HBO First Look: Brokedown Palace (1999)

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Soundtracks

Naxalite
Written by Deeder Saidullah Zaman, Sanjay Gulabbhai Tailor, John Ashok Pandit, Steven Chandra Savale,
Aniruddha Das
Performed by Asian Dub Foundation
Courtesy of London Records

User Reviews

Interesting prison-drama about a girls accused of heroin trafficking in Thailand

The film concerns about a pair young girls(Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale) take a vice-filled vacation to Thailand . Then they're deceived by an Australian drug dealer. Suddenly, they're busted in the Thai airport attempting to smuggle hard drug in their luggage . Then, they're are sentenced to a nightmare and cruel prison as an example to other potential smugglers. The young girls are convicted long time in a squalid third world prison. They're only helped by an expatriate advocate(Bill Pullman) in law and his supporter(Jacqueline Kim). Later enduring tremendous physical and mental , the girls seek their chance at escape.

This powerful and gripping movie is a jail-drama based indirectly on true events. The picture relies heavily on the enjoyable relationship between Beckinsale and Danes, more than on legal problems and brutal conditions from prison. Despite contributing a final twist to the extremely suspenseful climax , Claire Danes 's role feels too contrived and is the greatest gap in the movie. The story follows the wake of ¨Midnight express(Alan Parker)¨ and and ¨Return of paradise(Joseph Ruben)¨. The film is shot in Phillipines , as the government of Thailand was none too pleased by the screenplay. The motion picture is well directed by Jonathan Kaplan, he's a veteran director with hits: ¨Accused,Love field¨ and flops : ¨Unlawful entry, Bad girls¨and today working for television: ¨Law and order, Without a trace, Crossing Jordan, ER¨, among others. Rating: Good and well worth seeing.