Feature film
အောင်သပြေ
Tin Maung · 1937
Synopsis
The film retraces the last days of Thibaw, the last king of Burma. The history it brings to the screen is well known: in November 1885, during the Third Anglo-Burmese War, British troops reach Mandalay almost without resistance and demand the king's surrender within twenty-four hours; the next day, Thibaw leaves the palace in an ox-cart with Queen Supayalat and their daughters, before being put aboard a boat on the Irrawaddy for exile in India.
Context
It is the first full-length talking picture of the A1 company and the first film by its director, who had been an actor for fourteen years. The colonial government did not let it be shown in cinemas, and few Burmese saw it on its release. The previous year, another Burmese film, which took its title from the nationalists' peacock flag, had been banned in the same way. Histories of Burmese cinema in English refer to it under the title “The Triumphant Jambul”.
Who it is for
A sound film in Burmese, from 1937. It helps to know about the British conquest of Mandalay in 1885.
Prizes and reception
Recorded by the history of Burmese cinema as one of the films banned by the colonial administration.