RECOMMENDED BOOKS, FILMS AND MUSIC TO GET READY FOR YOUR TRIP:

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Burma JV: Reporting from a closed country (2008)- This documentary made of videos of burmese citizens documenting what happend in  2007 when a series of anti-government protests started in Burma on 15 August 2007. People protested against the  decision of the the  ruling military junta (the State Peace and Development Council) to remove fuel subsidies. That ended up in a huge increase of the fuel' s price. For a highly repressed country,  that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Then, a non-violent protests started daily durind weeks by students, political activists and, finally, on 18th September  thousands of Buddhist monks joined the protests. After that, many repression and people beaten or killed by the military forces, many people taken to prison and many people missing, also buddhist monks.

This is a touching  documentary where you can see how this network of improvised VJ (Video Journalists) manage to shot and smuggled out the video reports outside the country and showing the world what happend.

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​Beyond Rangoon (1995)- This is a movie based in a true story book.  ​It' s based in the experience of  the American doctor Laura Bowman in Burma. She watches a political pro-democracy manifestation to support the leader Aung San Suu Kyi and she decides to participate. Unfortunately, she loses her passport and she is not allowed to leave the country. While she is waiting to fix the problem, she meets the  tourist guide U Aung Ko, who is also a leader of an underground movement, and she decides to visit the countryside of Burma. However, the military dictatorship represses the movement and Laura finds herlsef running away from the military forces and trying to escape to Thailand.

Director: John Boorman

Cast: Patricia Arquette, Frances McDormand, U Aung Ko.

 

 

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​The lady (2011) This movie depicts the life of Aung San Suu Kyi,  the Burmese  politician and chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) that won elections in 1990 general election, (81% of the seats in Parliament)  but she was arrested  by the military goverment before the elections. She´s been released and arrested (house arrestment) since 1989 until 2010, when she was finally released.  In 2012 she returned to politics. The movie focus in her personal relationships, specially with his father, husband and children rather than in her dinamic and passionate political life, but it' s still interesting for those aiming to learn a little bit about recent burmese history.

Director: John Boorman

Cast: Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, Benedict Wong
 

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​BOOKS

 

Burmese days- George Orwell

​Burma Chronicles (comic book)- Guy Delisle.

From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey- Pascal Khoo Thwe

To Myanmar with Love: A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur- Laurie Weed. Edited  by Morgan Edwardson

Gentleman in the Parlour-  W. Somerset Maugham​

A Modern De Quincey: Autobiography of an Opium Addict-  H.R. Robinson​

Finding George Orwell in Burma- Emma Larkin

The State in Myanmar- ​David I. Steinberg

Golden earth: travels in Burma-​ Norman Lewis

​Burma: curse of Independence- Shelby Tucker

​The burmese harp- Michio Takeyama

 

 

 

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