Watching Dragon, Hidden Growler

INDEX

Many Chinese and East Asian films are very successful due to their fantastic creativity and innovation.

Here are a selection that deserve your attention.

This article was also featured in Chinatown - The Magazine.

Rawle Austin presents...

Warrior King (Tom Yum Goong)

“A crazy Thai man with a red scarf was seen at the scene.” This quote from the film neatly sums up this brilliant fist fest given to us by martial artist Tony Jaa. Make no mistake, Tony Jaa is the new Bruce Lee. I know that term has been bandied about so often that we get a little jaded when we hear it, but not in this case.

Seeing Jaa perform, doing all his own stunts and bone crunching fight sequences, I can tell you that he’s the real deal.

Thai cinema has crashed into the mainstream arena. Get ready for some no holds barred action.

Warrior King starts off showing the main lead Kham as a boy. We get an intimate glimpse into his family life and in particular the strong bond with his father and his family’s pet elephants.

This all sets the scene some years later when the family elephants Por Yai and Korn are kidnapped by a mafia gang of smugglers, eager to get an inflated price for the overseas market for rare endangered animals.

Of course, Kham, now a master in the Thai martial art of Muay Thai doesn’t take this lightly and goes after the criminals.

Even if it takes him all the way to Sydney, Australia to take the mafia gang head on.

Director Prachya Pinkaew has put together a fantastic representation of certain facets of Thai society and culture and those of you who aren’t familiar with it will get a treat. In particular, the world famous Thai Water Festival, Songkran is shown during one scene. Director’s quote “ It’s all about (Thai) culture. Muay Thai (the Thai martial art) is a part of our culture but this film is about the elephants and how long ago, both elephants and Muay Thai were intermingled with each other and in turn were a part of our kingdom’s heritage.

The underlying concept of the film is that there are no wires, no CGI special effects and no stunt doubles. Warrior King is literally a dream come true for me.

It has been extremely hard work but I wouldn’t change a thing. I am really proud of what has been accomplished.”

The above quote sums up this delicious film quite nicely. I felt the need to applaud at the end of the movie after witnessing something special. Action movies don’t get much better than this!

Prachya Pinkaew was born in 1962 and began his film career in 1990. He plied his trade at Pack Shot Entertainment, initially as an art director and then later as a creative director.

1992 saw him direct several music videos, which caught the attention of the viewers for their quality. This same year gave Prachya the opportunity to direct his first feature film called The Magic Shoes.

In 1994 he shot his second movie Romantic Blues. But the third movie was the charm. 2003’s Ong Bak was the film that catapulted Thai cinema into the global public eye and made a superstar of a young actor named Tony Jaa.

Tony Jaa plays Kham a young villager with a simple and happy life who also happens to be the last remaining Jaturungkabart. These were an ancient elite group of soldiers with vast martial arts skills who fought alongside the Thai Sovereignty in many epic battles. In my opinion, Jaa played both aspects of his character well and is believeable both as the humble villager and the consummate warrior.

Tony Jaa was born in rural Surin province in Thailand. His father was a Muay Thai boxer who had boxed all over that province.

Tony took up martial arts at the tender age of 10 and dreamt of being as good as his hero, Jackie Chan. He practised every spare minute he could.

His life changed when at 15 he saw the action film Born to Fight (1984) that was directed by and starred the legendary Panna Rithikrai.

This showed him there there were real opportunities for action stars in Thailand. He set out to be an actor, even going so far as to ask his dad to ask Panna Rithikrai if he could become his student.

Ong Bak was his first starring role and this movie also showcased his fight choreography skills. This film became a smash hit and made Tony Jaa Thailand’s top action star.

A little known fact is that Tony Jaa is in fact a screen name given to him by director Prachya Pinkaew. ‘Jaa’ is his nickname in Thai and he is actually more widely known as ‘Jaa Panom’ in Thailand than Tony Jaa. One of Tony Jaa’s ambitions is to eventually open a sanctuary for all abandoned elephants in his native Thailand.

Actress Tuk Bongkod Kongmalai plays Pla who meets Tony Jaa’s character, Kham, in Australia where they form a friendship.

I thought Tuk’s portrayal of Pla was tender, confident and a joy to watch.

An accomplished actress, her stunning good looks are very striking and only serve to increase her presence on screen.

Tuk began her acting career at 15 when she starred in the period action film Bang Rajan (2001) which was directed by Thanit Jitnukul.

Her role in Warrior King has cemented her status in Thai cinema. She’s definitely one to watch for the future.

Sergeant Mark, played by Phetthai Wongkhamlao, is another character in the film who helps Kham in Australia. His character brings a touch of slapstick to the movie and helps to release some of the tension in the film.

Phettai is in fact an accomplished comedian and did the rounds on the Thai Thep Pongam comedy circuit before starting his own comedy troupe. This venture was very successful and also provided opportunities for young, up and coming comedians.

After years of working in low budget movies he got the chance to work in the action comedy, Killer Tattoo. This made him a household name in Thailand that, in turn, lead him to co-star in the film Ong Bak. In 2004 he directed his own film, The Bodyguard, which was very funny and well received by the Thai cinema going audience. Warrior King showcases his talents brilliantly and he brought a smile to my face many a time during this movie.

Warrior King has the honour of having the highest ever budget allocated to a Thai action film. Its Thai translation ‘Tom Yum Goong’ is actually a famous national dish, a soup, in Thailand.

Warrior King is an amazing movie and I want to see more of the same! You will too! This is an action movie with a difference. And that difference is Tony Jaa.

Warrior King is released by Contender Entertainment Group and opens at UK cinemas on 28th July 2006.

Running time: 110 mins, Certificate:18

An Audience with Seijun Suzuki>

<An Interview with Bai Ling

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