Kelly WandBang-Rajan
September 27th 2006 02:43
Do you like watching a film full of blood drenched battles on a truly epic scale? How about if one side is portrayed as being evil beyond human understanding whilst the good guys are simple village folk? I don’t know about you but, whilst this is acceptable in a fantasy genre film, I find it a little disconcerting in an historical drama.
It is 1765 and the Burmese are invading Siam (now Thailand). Superior in numbers and munitions, the Burmese swoop down to rape, murder and enslave. Let me tell you how evil the Burmese are. When a lone officer comments on the genocidal practices of his colleagues, his weakness is declared treasonous. Yeah, you wouldn’t want to meet the Burmese in a dark alley – particularly in a Thai film.
Well, Thailand has been producing some interesting films of late and, other than the rampant nationalism, there isn’t a lot to fault in the production. Camera work, direction and editing are superb. The action choreography should shame Messrs Lucas, and Jackson into handing back their assembled gongs.
It is actually a frighteningly effective piece of propaganda. It wasn’t long before I’d fallen in love with all the residents of the village of Bang-Rajan.
As the Burmese swooped down towards the Siamese capital, the only significant resistance they find along the way comes at Bang-Rajan. The villagers are regular people just like you and me. They fall in love. They have hopes and dreams. They make mistakes and they try to make amends. However, they fight with frightening skill and a ferocity you’d be unlikely to raise amongst your neighbours. They pretty much have to because their own government isn’t doing anything by way of aid or reinforcement.
You’d have to have a pretty hard heart not to love these guys. Right is on their side. Even their Buddhist priest is all in favour of their bloody fighting. They have some pretty funky haircuts and moustaches too. The ending is sad and touching and, if it wasn’t for the fact that I felt utterly manipulated by the story line, I would heartily recommend it. I still do heartily recommend it but I do so with my previously stated proviso.
The DVD box tells me this is in the tradition of Ong Bak. How an historical drama can be in the tradition of a modern day martial arts movie is a concept that eludes me. Fans of non stop brutal action will certainly have little to complain about. I just crave a little more moral ambiguity.
It is 1765 and the Burmese are invading Siam (now Thailand). Superior in numbers and munitions, the Burmese swoop down to rape, murder and enslave. Let me tell you how evil the Burmese are. When a lone officer comments on the genocidal practices of his colleagues, his weakness is declared treasonous. Yeah, you wouldn’t want to meet the Burmese in a dark alley – particularly in a Thai film.
Well, Thailand has been producing some interesting films of late and, other than the rampant nationalism, there isn’t a lot to fault in the production. Camera work, direction and editing are superb. The action choreography should shame Messrs Lucas, and Jackson into handing back their assembled gongs.
It is actually a frighteningly effective piece of propaganda. It wasn’t long before I’d fallen in love with all the residents of the village of Bang-Rajan.
As the Burmese swooped down towards the Siamese capital, the only significant resistance they find along the way comes at Bang-Rajan. The villagers are regular people just like you and me. They fall in love. They have hopes and dreams. They make mistakes and they try to make amends. However, they fight with frightening skill and a ferocity you’d be unlikely to raise amongst your neighbours. They pretty much have to because their own government isn’t doing anything by way of aid or reinforcement.
You’d have to have a pretty hard heart not to love these guys. Right is on their side. Even their Buddhist priest is all in favour of their bloody fighting. They have some pretty funky haircuts and moustaches too. The ending is sad and touching and, if it wasn’t for the fact that I felt utterly manipulated by the story line, I would heartily recommend it. I still do heartily recommend it but I do so with my previously stated proviso.
The DVD box tells me this is in the tradition of Ong Bak. How an historical drama can be in the tradition of a modern day martial arts movie is a concept that eludes me. Fans of non stop brutal action will certainly have little to complain about. I just crave a little more moral ambiguity.
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