Brokedown Palace

So what sort of a film might you make about such a predicament? Well you could hire a couple of attractive young actresses (Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale) as the victims, lighten up on the prison bit as much as possible, and at every opportunity throw over the top a soundtrack from which a CD could be made.

At the same time turn the film into a teen angst movie about two friends. Have them argue meekly about who slept with who and who's been telling lies.

Surround these girls with prisoners and guards who are hardly noticed or noticeable, and throw into the mix a good dollop of cockroaches for a tasty third world effect.

And by keeping the mood of the film frivolous, let the audience know from the start that everything is going to be alright even after the arrest and incarceration.

But Brokedown Palace could have been made another way. In this version there would be no long, happy, holiday prologue about the events leading up to the arrest.

Or if there was that would be only to accentuate the horror of what's happened to the girls.

The mood of the movie would be coloured without abundant sunlight, using dark, discordant music.

Then end the movie with suicide or murder. That would be much more in tow with the more normal, real life (Australian) experiences following imprisonment in Thai Brokedown Palaces.

Guess which way the film was made?

Not all films need to be gut wrenching dramas but presenting this sort of material in such a light weight, optimistic fashion seems to be a bit rich.

Midnight Express and Return To Paradise are films that treated similar subjects in their proper fashion.

Brokedown Palace is pleasant enough but should it have been?