Rating: 
Summary: Could have been so much more ....
Review: The idea was very good. The performances are good, but it is a Hollywood look at what prison is like over in Thailand. This movie was recommended to me, and I was disappointed. It lost credibility with scenes like the padded bra with money getting past security. That just wouldn't happen. Also, we are left to wonder if the blonde girl did in fact know about the drugs in her pack pack. If you recall she remained in the accommodation room for a while longer while her friend was at the checkout paying the tab. Now the silly part was the ending. It was as if the producers decided that the film had to finish up, so let's get a conclusion quickly. There is no way that the king would have allowed the blonde girl to run to the front and beg for her friend's forgiveness. Yes, I realise the film was trying to capture a strained friendship, but simply put, the Thai law wouldn't free one go over the other. People go to these prisons and that's it. My point being that this film could have been so much more if it stuck to a more realistic storyline. I suggest readers get hold of 'Bangkok Hilton' starring Nicole Kidman. It was made in 1989. Although it has an unbelievable ending, it depicts Thai jails more realistically, and not the 'summer camp' style that 'Brokedown Palace' offers.
Rating: 
Summary: amazing talent
Review: this movie tells it like it is, its dramatic, and very well acted. It shows strangth, power, friendship and betral.
its amazing
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Movie
Review: Many negative reviews seem to be under the misapprehension that this movie is about something which it is not. Something that, if it were to incorporate those elements, would completely change the character of the film--turning it from a story about friendship, character, and life's little events to one about the horrors of the foreign prison.This film is not about prison or about life in prison. It is not about drug smuggling. Criticizing it on this is like saying that Pirates of the Caribbean is a horrible movie because it doesn't represent an accurate portrayal of shipboard life. It is a stunningly beautiful and well done (at points artistic) portrayal of the depths of friendship and the strength of human character ("if you are lying..."). The sets and acting are wonderful, the examination of the Thai legal system seemed fair (regardless of whether those are the actual conditions in prison, I am not qualified to judge nor do I care for the purposes of this film), and there were several underlying moral questions without clear answers. Which is another thing: this movie doesn't leave you with all of the answers. Nothing is left accidentally dangling, but there are several things left for you to chew on.
Rating: 
Summary: Ahh, the price of friendship
Review: This film is about two best friends Darleen (Kate Beckinsale) and Alice (Claire Danes) who go to Thailand instead of Hawaii in search of adventure. The two have just graduated high school and have thier entire lives ahead of them. When in Thailand, the two meet a boy and both fall for him. He invites them to Hong Kong, using them as drug carriers. The two get caught with the drugs and are thrown into jail in Thailand. The story really takes off from there. The two are stuck in jail now for life. Bill Pulman plays thier lawyer who believes the two girls don't belong in jail. I only wish that less time was spent on his character and more time spent on the relationship between the girls. Things really start to fall apart while they are in jail, but not much of it is shown. Claire Danes character Alice is reckless. She just wants to have fun, where as Darlene is more grounded. The two foils compliment eachother well. Claire Danes did a great job, her performance realy ripped my heart to shreds. Director Jonathan Kaplan really leaves a lot to the imagination while telling this story. It is never said if eithter of the girls knew the drugs were in the backpack. I believe niether of them new, because Darlene wouldn't be so stupid, and Alice wouldn't get Darlene envolved in something like that. Alice seems to care more about what happens to Darlene than what happens to herself. She plays the protective role in the relationship. All in all, this is a good film, but not perfect. It will make you look at yourself and wonder how far you would go for a friend.
Rating: 
Summary: Prison life at its worst
Review: We have all seen those movies where people are sent to prison and forced to deal with its unpleasant and vulgar nature. But not like this one. Alice Marano (Claire Danes) and Darlene Davis (Kate Beckinsale) are sent to rot in a Thai prison for a crime they didn't even know they commited. What makes the Thai prison so harsh is the fact that it's outside, it's hot, and you don't really get visitation rights. When Alice and Darlene finish high-school, they tell their parents they're going to Hawaii, when really it's Thailand they're headed for. All's well for the beginning of the trip, and they even manage to make a new friend, Nick Parks (played by Daniel Lapaine), after he covers a tab they tried to get out of paying for at a hotel. And, being the handsome Australian he is, is able to woo both of the girls into going to Hong-Kong with him. But what happens at the airport before going to Hong-Kong is quite the shocker. Airport security finds drugs on one of their backpacks and takes them away. Being that this is Thailand, and not America (where we'd probably let this slide the first time), the two are sent to 33 years in the aforementioned prison. I don't want to give away anything else, but as you can imagine neither are very happy with this sentence; as they do everything they can to be released. Underrated director Jonathan Kaplan does a lot with a movie I think most people overlook. He's also able to bring in big-name actor Bill Pullman, who plays Alice and Darlene's lawyer. The movie is very good, yet the story is similar to the Vince Vaughn movie "Return To Paradise". And if you liked that one I'm sure you'll like this movie. I gave it 3 stars for two reasons: one, the plot is very similar to that 1998 movie, which was made only a year before "Brokedown Palace". And two, because the ending seemed to be a bit melodramatic, even if it seems to be fitting. But no doubt you should check this movie out; it's worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: Brokedown Movie
Review: Claire Danes is the only thing that kept this movie going. She is so eye-fetching and compelling as an actress, that you just want to reach out and touch her. But, what a lousy ending. It had potential. The scenario is an all too familiar one, two good-looking American girls find themselves trapped in an Asian prison with seemingly no way out. But, this isn't a jailbait movie, it attempts to address the issue in a serious way, a la Midnight Express, but unfortunately falls flat on its face. The characters are so unbelievable (except Danes of course). Fathers who allow their daughters to rot in jail. A private American lawyer hanging out in Bangkok who wiffs of second-hand Graham Greene novels ready to bail out the girls for a price. A friendship between the two girls that you really have to question in the face of what happens to them, and an ending that will leave you totally exasperated. I don't suppose this was based on a true story. Rather, the director seemed in search of some gravitas and needed to concoct an ending that would carry with it the emotional weight he imagined would be the case in such a situation. But, it is simply too incredible to believe that Danes' character would sell herself in this way.
Rating:
Summary: Exotic lands are only fun until...
Review: Sure, the movie was not (from what I know) completely accurate in terms of the conditions of Thai prisons. And I do agree at times the prison seemed so sunny, too friendly, too cheerful, etc to be realistic. But I think that the plot is that of a tale of friendship as much as it is of serving time in a Thai prison. Most importantly, I think that anyone who is a first time traveler or planning on backpacking throughout Southeast Asia really should see this film. Darlene and Alice were typical girls from USA Suburbia. They had just finished school (like many who are about to do a gap year or some backpacking) and went to Thailand because it was exotic, different, faraway... They really didn't know much about Thai culture before they set out. Sadly, they stayed in Thailand for much longer than they had planned to -- locked up in a women's prision (probably Lard Yao), for carrying drugs. Without devulging the plot, it is fair to say that they were innocent. Again, another harsh reminder that if you are heading to Southeast Asia (or really any developing area), you need to be really careful. Watch this, read Sandra Gregory's "Forget you Had a Daughter," and don't try anything stupid (or don't be coerced, tricked, etc). Southeast Asia is a wonderful place, and you will have a blast. Just know that there are consequences if you are caught with anything.
Rating:
Summary: Reason I didn't give it a one star
Review: Warning -semi-spoilers Okay, there is one reason I did not give this film a one star. If a young teeny bopper adolescent girl crazed over Claire Danes can learn a lesson about flying off to an unknown place without understanding that country's laws, and stop thinking it's so cool to go away with her best gilfriend and live it up in another exotic locale...then all is not wasted. Otherwise...this movie was really sad. Not as entertaining as the commericals lead me to believe. The girls were too incredibly naive and arrogant while in another country. Depressing stuff.
Rating:
Summary: very good
Review: I liked this movie, it is one of the best I ever seen.
The Claire Danes performance is absolutely great. All the movie is based on her facial expressions.
Good photogray and soundtrack. Somewere the plot lacks of credibility.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunately a waste of time...
Review: Alan Parker's "Midnight Express" was an intense and ultra-realistic movie about what it must be like being imprisoned in a third-world country under unbelievably inhumane circumstances. Nicole Kidman (while still in Australia and unknown) did a powerful TV-mini-series, called "Bankok Hotel", about a girl who is wrongfully put in a Thai prison. That series captured the brutality and hopelessness of such a situation in a fascinating and exciting way. None of that you'll find in Brokedown Place. It's so bad, I couldn't but laugh out loud a few times. Even though Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale are trying very hard to give passionate and believable performances, they are hopelessly lost in an unoriginal and unbelievable story full of clichés. In their effort to market this movie to a certain demographic, the producers have chosen the worst kind of soundtrack for such a topic. Sarah Mclachlan and all the others are totally out of place in those golden-sunlight-Thai-prison montages. Just when you thought it coudn't get any worse, they throw in another catchy song-montage. It's rediculous. This movie is an insult to everyone who has to do serious time without a fair trial.
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