Rambo turns human rights campaigner

The Vietnam veteran, played by Sly Stallone, is in Burma in his new film which centres on the Karen people and the brutal Burmese army.

Rambo appears to have come of age, the gun-toting Vietnam veteran played by Sylvester Stallone finds himself in Burma in his latest film, action centers on the plight of the Karen people and the brutality of the Burmese army which is why the film has been banned by the Rangoon government. It's made Stallone a symbol of the Burmese resistance. But pirated copies of the movie are proving hard to come by. In Britain, the Odeon chain of cinemas is refusing to screen it for commercial reasons. Our Asia correspondent Inigo Gilmore reports.

They've seen off many a foe time and again with brutal efficiency. But they didn’t reckon on John J. Rambo.

Burma is a war zone.

Armed with his trademark bandanna and a fair bit of firepower, Sylvester Stallone is back. This time single-handedly taking on Burma's cruel military regime as he rescues a group of Christian aid workers. Despite appearances, the producers of this movie about to be released here in neighboring Thailand, insist it's Rambo with a difference. Sure there is bloodletting on a grand scale, but they say it's a movie with a message.

The backdrop to the film is the world's longest running insurgency, being fought by ethnic Karen tribe's people in eastern Burma against the military regime. The Rambo film reflects the daily realities of the Karen, routinely persecuted by soldiers from the Burmese army who raped the women, and forced families from their homes.

In this recent footage, Karen refugees flee through the jungle in terror after their village was ransacked and burnt. Sylvester Stallone may seem an unlikely champion to their cause, but there is no doubt in his passion.

The real Burmese refugees in the Karen refuges, they don't wanna do this,they'are so scared, even though that some have been there for ten years. But once one stood up which is the fellow who plays the villain, who is an actual rebel and a Karen freedom fighter, and was willing to put his family on the line to do this movie. Everyone stepped up.

Maung Maung Khim believes his experience as a freedom fighter in Burmese eastern jungles lends authenticity to his performance.

In my performance, I acted to reflect the real villains in the real Burmese army. I acted as a really brutal villain.

The actors believed the film has added resonance with a fallout from September's brutal crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators. Soldiers like those fighting the Karen on the Thai border crushed demonstrations led by Burma's revered monks. And the repression and roundups continue.

Rambo 4 is officially banned in Burma. But some watch the film in secret. And it’s already taken on cult status, even though these people risk ten years in jail if caught with a copy. Its lines like this one, that ever apparently struck a chord.

'Live for nothing or die for something.'

The film is coming in outlet for the frustrations of young Burmese. 'Rambo killing those oppressive army people, they can't do that, but Rambo did it in the movie, that's why they like it.

Even the Buddhist monks say they are watching, they are watching that, the Ramboo movie, and they cheer, ''look, this is, this is the real fights between those, ok their hero Rambo and the Burmese army.''

The film may have gone some way to highlight the plight of the Burmese under their brutal repressive regime. But there are no Rambos riding to their rescue, and certainly no one anticipates a happy Hollywood ending. Inigo Gilmore, Channel 4 news, Bangkok.