East is East and West is West and sometimes the twain do meet -- if only briefly.

 In the 1860s, a widowed British governess named Anna Leonowens arrived in Siam (now known as Thailand) to tutor the royal children of King Mongkut.

 According to the journals which Leonowens eventually published, she was instrumental in helping Siam become one of the most progressive of the Victorian Asian nations.

 She also implied that she was able to win the heart of an Asian ruler who had already committed himself to dozens of wives and concubines.

 Instead of being dismissed as hubris, Leonowens' journals have inspired a novel, a 1946 film, the smash Broadway play The King and I and its subsequent Oscar-winning film, an animated musical and now a lush, epic love story called Anna and the King.

 As directed by Andy Tennant, Anna and the King may have dispensed with the famous songs from The King and I, but it has retained the spirit of that musical.

 That's not a bad thing.

 Anna's view of her time in Siam needs a romantic veneer of fantasy.

 Jodie Foster gives Anna a lofty self-importance that cries out for more humanity and some earthy passion.

 As the Annas before her have demonstrated, Anna learned to love the king's children, wives and concubines before realizing that she was slowly being smitten by him.

 Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat is the first Asian to play Mongkut and he brings a regal poise to the role. Mongkut is no longer the big-hearted comic buffoon that Yul Brynner created in the role.

 It's easy to see why Foster's Anna and Yun-Fat's Mongkut became reluctant soulmates. They are so very much alike, even though they are separated by class, culture and sex.

 Yun-Fat's performance is so subtle and textured that he appears to be doing so little when in fact he turns in one of the best performances of the year.

 Foster is solid and impressive, but she's not British and at times it's obvious she's striving a little too hard to be authentic.

 Anna and the King is a story, not just of unrequited love, but of impossible love.

 This theme is echoed through Tuptim (Bai Ling), one of the king's concubines who is still in love with a childhood friend.

 Anna and the King retains most of the famous moments from The King and I, including the squabbling over Anna's private residence, the outbursts in the schoolroom, the preparations for a state dinner and their brazen dance that shocked two continents.

 The film adds a much less successful subplot about a conspiracy to end Mongkut's reign that turns Anna into the saviour of Siam.

 Anna and the King is a sumptuous film that tugs at the heartstrings while nudging the funny-bone.

 It's an excellent family film that delivers laughs, adventure and romance -- and shows that the human heart is the real bridge between cultures.

(This film is rated PG)

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