Luc Besson shows his political side with the latest trailer for The Lady

THE LADY, Luc Besson’s rare foray into straight drama, premiered last month at the Toronto International Film Festival, though I don’t recall having heard any word on the film one way or the other. It will, however, be making a limited theatrical run later this year in order to qualify for the upcoming Oscars, so there must be some confidence in the material. This trailer does pretty much make the film look like Oscar bait, though I don’t necessarily mean that as a negative. It simply looks good, showcasing what appears to be a broadly-told, real-life story with a seemingly strong performance from Michelle Yeoh. I look forward to seeing what Besson did with this.

THE LADY also stars David Thewlis, Susan Wooldridge, and Benedict Wong. Check out the trailer below or see it in HD over at Yahoo! Movies.

Synopsis: The Lady is the extraordinary story of Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband, Michael Aris. It is also the story of the peaceful quest of the woman who is at the core of Burma’s democracy movement. Despite distance, long separations, and a dangerously hostile regime, their love endures until the very end. It’s a story of devotion and human understanding set against a backdrop of political turmoil that continues today. The Lady was written over a period of three years by Rebecca Frayn. Interviews with key figures in Aung San Suu Kyi’s entourage enabled her to reconstruct for the first time the true story of Burma’s national heroine.