Brokedown Palace
In an interview Claire Danes complained about the conditions in the Philippines, heat, humidity, filthy, cockroaches, poor and disabled people. She subsequently was declared "persona non grata" by the Philippine government and barred from entering the country.,After Alice and Darlene take the fruit forbidden to new prisoners, Alice is punished by having the palms of her hands beaten severely with a heavy wooden club. Even if the beating didn't break any bones, it would have caused severe swelling, pain, and difficulty gripping things, yet in the very next scene, her hands seem fine.,Doug Davis: You're a scammer and you're a manipulator. You think that I don't know you? You are dead wrong. The only thing that has ever come out of your mouth is lies. Six years old... the paint... the paint all over your hands. All over our couch? 'I didn't do it.' 16 years old with the beer cans in my car. 'I didn't do it.' Let me hear you say it again, Alice. Come on! Let me hear you say it in here, huh? Come on, one for old times' sake!,Featured in HBO First Look: Brokedown Palace (1999),Silence
Written by Bill Leeb, Rhys Fulber, Sarah McLachlan
Performed by Delerium
Courtesy of Nettwerk Productions,Although I go to the movies regularly, I didn't see a trailer for this film, and the few reviews I read beforehand suggested it would appeal mainly to women under 35. Being neither, I could have been excused for missing this film, which would have been a shame, because I enjoyed it. The acting from Danes, Beckinsdale and Pullman was excellent and a pleasant change from watching films where special effects try to substitute for quality acting. Brokedown Palace is one of the few films I've seen this year where I haven't been able to correctly predict the outcome half way through.

For me this was more than a repeat of the "tourist taken advantage of by nasty local/foreign low life" film. While it is clearly a cautionary tale of the risks of travelling abroad, it is also very much about trusting your friends and the extent you are willing to make sacrifices for them.

It is also a reminder that in any country, justice is dispensed by people with power, and the extent that truth features in the dispensing of justice is largely at their discretion. The film correctly portrays that crying "I'm an American citizen, I have rights" rarely sees an immediate release from jail and humble apology from the local police, nor does enlisting the help of the US embassy result in a company of marines landing at night to storm the jail and rescue you.

Brokedown Palace is one of the few films I have seen this year which I intend to see again.,