The Lady

The Lady is a 2011 British biographical film directed by Luc Besson, starring Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi and David Thewlis as her late husband Michael Aris. Yeoh called the film "a labour of love" but also confessed it had felt intimidating for her to play the Nobel laureate. Plot In 1947, a young Aung San Suu Kyi spends time with her father Aung San, who led Burma to independence. Soon afterwards, he, along with a group of colleagues, is assassinated by armed men in uniform. In 1988, Suu Kyi, now happily married with family in England, returns to Burma to see her ill mother, finding that her father is still widely remembered. Upon visiting her mother in hospital, she meets injured patients from the Tatmadaw's crackdown in the 8888 Uprising. She realises that political change is needed in Burma and is drawn into the reform movement. She then accepts the role of icon in support of democracy by the Burmese people and devotes herself to activities in support of greater political freedoms. Suu Kyi establishes the National League for Democracy and wins the 1990 elections. However, the Burmese military refuses to accept the results and moves to rein in Suu Kyi. She and her family are separated when her husband and children were banned from Burma and she is put under a house arrest for more than a decade. Her husband Michael Aris keeps up a relentless struggle for Suu Kyi's recognition outside Burma. Due to their efforts, she receives the Nobel Peace Prize. As Suu Kyi could neither attend the ceremony, her family accepts the Prize on her behalf. The military later offers Suu Kyi a chance to see her dying husband but refuses, knowing that she will not be allowed to return to Burma. After grieving her husband's death, she continues her political work, appearing to supporters from behind her gate while still under house arrest.