Brokedown Palace (1999)

Brokedown Palace is truly a one of a kind. It's an amazing story, showing two girl's plight for freedom against the Thailand justice system. They soon find themselves placing faith into a system they know nothing about.

Alice Morano (Claire Danes) and Darlene Davis (Kate Beckinsale), are two best friends, strait out of high school. They suddenly change their vacation plans from Hawaii to Thailand, and are immediately captivated by a young man, Nick Parks. He flirts with them both, and suggests that the three of them go to Hong Kong for the weekend.

When the two arrive at the airport, they are immediately searched for drugs. Someone tipped off customs, and in an instant, their life is changed forever. In the mix of the confusion of settling into their new life, they learn about a highly respected lawyer, named Hank Green (Bill Pullman).

An American who knows the Thai justice system, he fights for the girl to be free. But they soon find out, when they leave or go is all up to them.

If you're looking for a great movie that'll stay with you for years - Brokedown Palace is definitely the way to go.

Fmovies: We all have friends. Some of us have more than others but there really are only one or two people that you feel really close with, people that you can say are like your brother or sister. Alice ( Danes )and Darlene ( Beckinsale ) are like that. You can see that from the beginning. They graduated together, they go to parties together and they decide to go to Bangkok together when they were supposed to be going to Hawaii. They also get busted for attempting to smuggle drugs into a third world country and that spells disaster. The rest of the film is about survival and not giving up hope. It also has a strong message about the power of friendship and what it can mean to someone.

Brokedown Palace is a very good film, it is not excellent and that is due to a few issues that I want to talk about. But first I want to say what is good about the film. And for starters the acting is top notch, and you can look no further than the two leads. Danes and Beckinsale are perfect in the roles that they have. Alice is always fiery and seems a little rough around the edges, but she seems more fun than Darlene. But sometimes that fun can get her into trouble. Darlene is always a little on the conservative side and although that can get irritating sometimes, it would have served the two girls better if her way was adhered to instead of Alice's. Bill Pullman is adequate as the American lawyer living in Thailand. The film is photographed very well also. The inside of the prison while not the same as Shawshank or Natural Born Killers or Return To Paradice, but it does show the necessary ( but underdone) hopelessness of the situation that they are in. Johnathin Kaplan's direction is quite good as well. We see the two girls struggling to make it through each day but you can see their spirit is being put out a little more each day. Brokedown Palace is excellent when it talks about friendship and it shows how they have to rely on each other to survive. The other thing that I had to comment on is the soundtrack for the film. It heightens and compliments the mood of the film to perfection. The song that you hear in the trailer is also played in the film and when it plays you feel the plight of the women in this prison. You can feel how alone they must feel and how desperate they are to get out and get back to the simple things in life. And it also makes you look at yourself and realize how lucky we are to live in the society that we do. We have it easy compared to some country's and believe it or not the music is a perfect catalyst for reflection on this subject. Some of the music is done by a group called Delirium ( I think ) but it is Sara McLaughlin( wrong spelling, but how do you spell her last name? ) that does the lyrics and her voice is beautiful and haunting and it adds so much to the film.

What I didn't enjoy about the film was some of the stupidity that the girls exhibit. I won't say what it is that they do but when you see it for yourself you'll know what I am talking about. Also I didn't really feel that the prison they were in was all that bad. It looked more like a minimum security prison and that may be because when there are similar circumstances in other films that invlove men doing time in a foreign country, the prison scenes are always brutal and sadistic. But I didn't get that here.

Overall this is a great film and it really does make you ask the question, " How far would you go for a friend? " That is a tough question and maybe one that none of

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.

Brokedown Palace fmovies. Alice(Claire Danes) and Darlene(Kate Beckinsale) have been best friends since forever and after they graduate they decide to take a trip to Thailand. Due to a incident, they meet a young attractive mysterious stranger who invites them to go with him Hong Kong for the weekend. But at the airport, Alice and Darlene are mistaken for drug smuggling heroine and they are sent to prison. Now it's time for ultimate survival and true friendship. This was a pretty good movie, i've seen it a couple of times and after a while you notice that they are a few holes in the plot but the movie still keeps you entertained. Claire Danes did a great job as usual, she is a great actress. I would give Brokedown Palace 8/10

This movie is cold, bare truth. Often we think "oh no, that won't happen to me." But it can. Drug smuggling is big money and often people are unknowingly (or tricked) into doing things for smugglers. The story of these two girls is the story of many young people who like them, only wanted a exotic holiday - which turned into a nightmare. People need to know that these sort of events aren't improbable or exaggerated - this IS a major problem in today's society.

I would recommend this movie to mature viewers because of the understanding needed to truly appreciate this movie. It is very emotional and raw. Well worth watching and certainly stays in your memory.

I saw this movie by luck, just because I was going through a phase where I had a new found admiration for Bill Pullman and wanted to see all of his recent movies and thank God I did! This Movie has stuck with me ever since and remain one of my favorites! The story revolves around two girls who embark on a dramatic journey in a foreign country where they'll learn the true meaning of freedom.

Alice and Darlene were just trying to spend a vacation together before going to college but their trip ended up a much more complicated story. The struggle they go through as they are arrested in Thailand and became prisoners is very moving and intense. The acting is amazing, the images extraordinary, the soundtrack is fantastic and so right for the movie and the message transmitted definitely powerful. I actually can't even find the right words to describe how this movie makes me feel every time I watch it. I know some people haven't appreciated as much as me by the rating the movie has but I swear, this one, you have to see!!! I promise it will stick with you!