Chocolate (2008) on Blu-ray November 22, 2008
Posted by Cal in : Action, 2000s films , trackbackDirector: Prachya Pinkaew Main cast: Yanin Vismistananda; Ammara Siripong; Taphon Phopwandee; Hiroshi Abe Territory: Thailand
Severely autistic child Zen (Yanin) compensates for her inability to communicate by having supernatural reflexes. Learning moves by watching a local Muay Thai boxing school, studying martial arts films and playing violent video games, she springs into action when her mother falls ill and she has to collect “debts” from nearby businesses. However, old gang boss Number-8 (Pongpat Wachirabunjong) isn’t too keen on being left out of the action, and an old grudge with Zen’s absent father (Hiroshi Abe) resurfaces.
Despite what people are saying, I don’t believe Thailand is the new Hong Kong when it comes to action movies. True, the level of sophistication is surprisingly high and the bodies are put on the line in a way reminiscent of Hong Kong in its 80’s gung-ho hey-day, but there has always felt like there’s something missing in the plot department. Chocolate, however, is probably the best I’ve seen yet from the country. The movie starts in a Johnnie To style with gangsters and gunfights, but essentially this is a full-on action movie – a fact that seems unlikely given the relatively actionless first half.
“JeeJa” Yanin Vistmistananda (please forgive any typos or errors in Thai names – I really can’t get my head around them) is the star of this film that was apparently four years in the making. Seeing her in action here I’d say she has a bright future ahead of her if she manages to stay unmaimed by appearing in films like this. Director Prachya Pinkaew talks about finding a “female Tony Jaa” for the role, and I suppose the comparison is appropriate, although (Shock! Horror!) there is quite a lot of wirework in the film. Her character is reasonably complex seeing as she essentially can’t talk, and she relies on facial expressions to good effect. Zen, a young girl with autism, has only her mother, friend Moom (Taphon Phopwandee) and a fondness for Smarties-like chocolates (hence the title of the film, I assume) for companions since her father was sent back to Japan by her pregnant mother. Zen also references the greats of martial arts movies, most notably Bruce Lee (in an ice making factory, no less!) and Jackie Chan’s Armour of God persona when she pops her chocs in her mouth like the great Asian Hawk.
The film is a little lopsided in that the first half is relatively actionless, focusing on the activities of the nasty Number-8 and his band of cronies (including a flock of transvestite gangsters) and the struggles of Zen’s mother, who was involved in the gang before Zen was born. Conversely, the second half is almost non-stop action as Zen goes on the offensive protecting her mother and raising funds to pay for her hospital treatment. The setpieces come thick and fast, and if you’ve ever seen a Tony Jaa film, you’ll know what to expect of their quality. I find the less exaggerated movements of the Thai style quite refreshing after watching so many Hong Kong productions. The climax goes a little overboard in my opinion with the wires being pretty obvious (even though you can’t see them, you can sense their presence all too easily) but even this doesn’t hinder the overall effect of the film. My only real criticism is the inclusion of a lot of sentimentality and melodrama, which I absolutely hate in action films, and the nagging feeling that there’s still something missing that could have given the film more of an impact. The film ends with a showcase of grisly outtakes that would turn Jackie Chan green with envy, usually showing each mishap and injury from multiple angles.
The Blu-ray Disc from Showbox is a real disappointment, with a grainy transfer and a hell of a lot of noise on a lot of interior shots. Prior to buying this film, I hadn’t read anything about the disc but reviews are slowly popping up and they tend to be rather dismissive of this problem (but do acknowledge it). Admittedly, at other times (such as the last shot of the film with the wind turbine) the visuals are fantastic, but when there’s something brown on the screen (particularly interior decor), the screen breaks out in big blocky blotches. Very annoying. Oh, and the subtitles are a bit hit-and-miss as well (“Lot’s of money”?). The extras aren’t as good as they seem at first either; essentially they comprise of a bunch of short featurettes that duplicate themselves a lot and are very clip-heavy. Oh, and one tip to Showbox Media Group: if you’re going to include an Easter Egg on your disc, do not a) highlight it on the back of the box so everybody starts exitedly looking for it and b) then make it a lame 20 second clip of one of the fighters breakdancing on set. Incidentally, if you can’t find it and really, really like short clips of people breakdancing, you can find it by highlighting the film’s title on the main screen. Yes, it’s that difficult.
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Out of curiosity, what Thai films have you seen and what do you want to see? Tears of the Black Tiger is the one I want to watch next.
I wish there was an R1 on this (is there a good R0; is yours)?
Hope you are doing well
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Hi Shawn - I’m fine, thanks! According to this site: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?id=1544&show=review , this release is Region free. So far, I haven’t had a problem with region encoded BDs, which is one of the reasons why I ended up getting a Region B locked machine (the other is the price and the rumour that region hacking can be undone with firmware updates).
However, pound for pound (or dollar for dollar) it may be more worthwhile getting the DVD. I wish I had now as I’m not happy at all with the transfer. The most disappointing BD I’ve watched yet.
The only Thai films I’ve seen are Ong-Bak and Tom Yum Goong (of course) and Sars Wars, which ewaffle (sorry, I don’t know his/her real name) mentioned on the HKMDB. As I said before, there are some aspects of Thai action cinema I love (the “attitude” and the risk-taking, mainly) but there’s something I can’t put my finger on that I don’t like. Well, the main reason I got irritated with Ong-Bak was because every stunt seemed to be shown time and time again from a different angle. Jackie Chan pulled it off a couple of times, but usually only once in a movie, and never to this degree!
As to what I want to see next, I’m open to recommendations…
I have not seen Sars Wars. The biggest problems with the Thai films I have seen lately (not counting the 80s and 90s ones which have even more problems) are acting and plot (though production has been improving constantly).
The Born to FIght remake should probably be next
. Here is a quick review of it I did awhile ago:
Born to Fight (2004) Thailand: one word: Gymkata. Now that I’ve got that out of my system I will slightly elaborate. In Panna Rittikrai’s first directed film (I believe) of a semi-remake (I need to buy the original; BCI has a R1 copy that just came out) of his popular (in Thailand) 1986 film. I noticed that on several web sites they are already getting confused on which is which. I found the plot more absurd than Tom Yum Goong (the plot consists of a terrorist taking over a village and ready to use a nuclear warhead if a certain leader is not released), yet the stunts are awesome in their disregard for human life (only partially being facetious). In the beginning there is a semi-truck chase where they are parallel while driving, Dan Chupong knocks off a bad guy of the top of the semi then bounces off the side of the other one and almost ping pongs underneath the other rolling truck (he actually rolls to the middle just in time) in an absolutely amazing stunt sequence. Now what is interesting is the hiring of many of Thai’s top athletes to perform well be themselves. Of course they fight using their abilities: the Rugby player does some tackles, the gymnasts fight with convenient parallel bars, the Sepak Takraw player uses his awesome kicking ability as well as the soccer player using his futbol ability. While I was not satisfied with the film as a whole it is hard not to forget many of the sagacious stunts.
That sounds interesting, but you saying “I was not satisfied with the film as a whole” is pretty much my reaction to most Thai films (Chocolate did seem better than most though). Like you say, production values are rising, but I find myself oddly detatched for some reason.