King Mongkut: I never danced with an Englishwoman before, mem.

Anna Leonowens: Nor I with a king.
[last lines]

King Chulalongkorn: It is always surprising how small a part of life is taken up by meaningful moments. Most often they are over before they start, although they cast a light on the future and make the person who originated them unforgettable. Anna had shined such a light on Siam.
King Mongkut: [to Anna] When a woman who has much to say says nothing, her silence can be deafening.
Louis Leonowens: [to Anna] Mother, what's a concubine?
Anna Leonowens: [to King Mongkut] Life is... precious, especially if you're a Christian and only allowed to have one.
Prince Chulalongkorn: Son of teacher is forgetting I am son of King.

Louis Leonowens: Son of teacher couldn't care less.

Prince Chulalongkorn: You will sit somewhere else!

Louis Leonowens: I will not!

Anna Leonowens: Louis, remember what I told you.

Louis Leonowens: I'm sorry Mother, but he started it.

Prince Chulalongkorn: In my country, man never tell a woman he is sorry about anything... ever! If you had father, you would know that.

Louis Leonowens: You don't have a father! You have a map!

[Louis pushes the prince]

Anna Leonowens: Louis!

Prince Chulalongkorn: It is forbidden to touch royalty!

Louis Leonowens: I didn't touch you! I shoved you! Why don't you get one of your servants to shove me back?
Louis Leonowens: Moonshee, why does the king have so many wives?

Moonshee, Leonowens' Indian Servant: That is an excellent question. For your mother.
Tuptim: [to Anna] If love was a choice, who would ever choose such exquisite pain?
Tuptim: I remember my first rice festival. People come from everywhere to see king. He bless all crops, and it begin to rain. I think he was a God.

Anna Leonowens: And now?

Tuptim: He is also a man.
Anna Leonowens: I would like to know why, if science can unravel something as beautiful as music... why it cannot posit a solution for a schoolteacher and a king.

King Mongkut: The manner in which people might understand such new possibilities is also process of evolution.

Anna Leonowens: Everything in Siam has its own time.
Anna Leonowens: You have the power to lead your people...

King Mongkut: Now is not the time to change the way that things are done!

Anna Leonowens: Well, if not now, then when? How many more people must die so that you might save face?
[first lines]

King Chulalongkorn: She was the first English woman I had ever met. And it seemed to me she knew more about the world than anyone. But it was a world Siam was afraid would consume them. The monsoon winds had whispered her arrival like a coming storm. Some welcomed the rain, but others feared a raging flood. Still she came, unaware of the suspicion that preceded her. But it wasn't until years later, that I began to appreciate how brave she was, and how alone she must have felt. An English woman. The first I had ever met.
Interpreter: Sir is married?

Anna Leonowens: A widow. Can you please explain to me why you call me "Sir"?

Interpreter: Women do not stand in the presence of His Excellency.
The Kralahome, Prime Minister: When presented to His Majesty, you and son will remember to touch forehead to floor.

Anna Leonowens: Your Excellency, although we have become better acquainted with your customs, we have certainly not forgotten our own.

The Kralahome, Prime Minister: Then how will you greet him?

Anna Leonowens: With the utmost respect.
King Mongkut: You are teacher?

Anna Leonowens: Yes, Your Majesty, I am.

King Mongkut: You do not look sufficient of age for scientific teaching. How many years have you?

Anna Leonowens: Enough to know that age and wisdom do not necessarily go hand in hand, Your Majesty.
King Mongkut: [to Anna and Louis] The Royal Family: Twenty three wives, forty two concubines, fifty eight offspring, and ten more on the way. Each one unique. Each one my hope for the future. I understand your surprise. Not as many as the Emperor of China, but he did not spend half of life in monastery. King making up for lost time.
King Mongkut: Presenting original pupil and heir apparent. Prince Chulalongkorn.

[to the Prince]

King Mongkut: This, my son, is your new teacher.

Anna Leonowens: It is a great honor, Your Highness.
The Kralahome, Prime Minister: Heir to throne must never be involved in issue of bondservant. It will resolve itself in time.

Anna Leonowens: Like my house?

The Kralahome, Prime Minister: You are learning.
Anna Leonowens: In my letter confirming my employment, Your Majesty, you claimed you wanted Siam to take its place among the nations of the modern world. You spoke of building something greater than yourself. A country where no man is above the law. Which is why I chose to come here.
The Kralahome, Prime Minister: Your Majesty, I believe there has been enough insult caused by this woman who believes herself to be the equal of a man.

King Mongkut: Not the equal of a man, Chao Phya. The equal of a King.
Anna Leonowens: [to King Mongkut] You cannot shut the world out forever. Believe me, I've tried.
Anna Leonowens: [to Lord Bradley] You raised your glass to him. You commended him for his vision. All the while, you were waiting to take his country from him.
King Mongkut: Why did you come back?

Anna Leonowens: Because I could not imagine a Siam without you.
Anna Leonowens: [to King Mongkut] Your Majesty, promise me... Promise me that I will see you again.
General Alak: [from trailer]

[to King Mongkut]

General Alak: These are dangerous times, Your Majesty. A foreigner's influence will be equally sore.
Anna Leonowens: [to King Mongkut] Why are you doing this?
Tuptim: How did Mem survive?

Anna Leonowens: The same way you will. One awful day at a time.
Anna Leonowens: Most people do not see the world as it is. They see it as they are.
King Mongkut: [to Princess Fa-ying] I will be there in your dreams, as you will be in mine
Tuptim: [speaks in English] He wrote to me, to bid me farewell. Believing that I was lost forever on the inside! To commit his life in monastery...

Third Judge: [interrupts her, in Thai] You will speak in your native tongue!
Anna Leonowens: My mind has taken me down many roads of late. All of which lead absolutely nowhere. What would Buddha say of that?

King Mongkut: That roads are for journeys, ma'am, not destinations.
King Mongkut: Gazing at the moon?

Anna Leonowens: Yes, it is beautiful.

King Mongkut: As the sun rises, she will surrender the night, but she is always with him, even when he cannot see her.

Anna Leonowens: It must be a great comfort to him.

King Mongkut: Yes.
King Mongkut: Until now, Madame Leonowens, I did not understand supposition man can be satisfied with only one woman.
Anna Leonowens: Everyone should have legends, I think. They allow us to dream.
Anna Leonowens: [to King Mongkut] Perhaps you should simply say what it is you're trying so hard not to.
King Mongkut: l have decided to give self anniversary dinner and invite important English nobles and diplomats.

Anna Leonowens: l don't understand.

King Mongkut: French lndochina grows stronger and more aggressive. But if l improve our foreign intercourse with your queen's special envoy, French will think three times before trying to undermine Siam.

Anna Leonowens: That's very clever, Your Majesty.

King Mongkut: As if to sound English bugles in own defense. You shall take charge of all formalities as Mem is obvious choice to make certain guests feel at home.

Anna Leonowens: But... the anniversary is when?

King Mongkut: Three weeks from yesterday.

Anna Leonowens: Three weeks? That's impossible!

King Mongkut: Mem... The egg is in the bottle.
General Alak: I admire vision, Lady Bradley, in all its forms.
Anna Leonowens: [ascending a staircase, arriving late for dinner, a little out of breath] Forgive me, Your Majesty. l believe the sun set a little earlier today.

King Mongkut: [amused] Mem. You arrange all this to influence positive future of Siam. And now you steal attention away from it.

Anna Leonowens: [shyly] Well, that was not my intention, Your Majesty.
King Mongkut: You! Why did you not go to monastery like king order?

Anna Leonowens: Because l lost one man to the jungle, Your Majesty. l was not about to let that happen again.

Anna and the King Quotes

Extended Reading

Anna and the King short comments

Chance 2022-03-19 09:01:06

A very nice way of portraying both cultures, cultural conflicts and the resolutions without demeaning either culture. Provide some insights on Christian missions also.
Kathryn 2022-04-24 07:01:17

The new is not as good as the old