2000, Thailand. Starring Jaran Ngamdee, Winai Kraibutr, Theerayut Pratyabamrung, Bin Bunluerit, Bongkoj Khongmalai, Chumphorn Thepphithak, Suntharee Maila-or, Phisate Sangsuwan, Theeranit Damrongwinijchai. Directed by Tanit Jitnukul. Written by Tanit Jitnukul, Kongkiat Khomsiri, Patikarn Phejmunee, Buinthin Thuaykaew. Purchase from Amazon.com

After concentrating October on reviewing Spanish horror films -- which was actually more fun than the poor reviews for many of the films may suggest -- I've found myself with a big stack of other stuff I'd watched throughout the month that needs mention. So forgive me if some of these comments are shorter than usual.

It had been my intention to catch the Thai epic Bang Rajan when it was playing in extremely limited (as in, one theater) release in New York, but as with most things I plan, it didn't pan out that way. I was getting worried that no DVD release seemed forthcoming, which I thought was strange. So I rented the UK edition from Niche Flix, only to get it and discover that it was cracked and unplayable. I was just destined not to see this movie it seemed.

Then all of a sudden, there it was on Netflix -- and only Netflix, in some sort of exclusive distribution deal with Oliver North's production company or something, which was in charge of bringing it to the United States, presumably to make up for how awful Alexander turned out to be. So at last, I was able to sit down for a night and watch hot Thai guys with big walrus moustaches beat the crap out of each other.

Thai movies have been getting a lot of exposure in the past couple years. While not nearly as popular as Hong Kong, Japanese, Korea, or Bollywood films, Thai cinema has eeked out a substantial cult following in the West, thanks primarily to the sort of low-fi approach many of the films have. As films from most of Asia attempt to out-tech and out-glitz Hollywood (though to date, only the Koreans have really succeeded at this), Thai films are throwbacks to an era of cruder but more interesting special effects, CGI-free fight scenes, and a more down-to-earth approach to making films that, while often rough around the edges, are refreshing precisely because they are rough around the edges. They feel like movies actual people made, instead of being mass market researched products that seem to have been assembled by a machine.

Hot on the heels of the international success of Ong Bak, which reminded people of how much fun it was to watch Jackie Chan and others during the 1980s before they got all old and broken down and reliant upon computers and gimmicks, Bang Rajan hit some screens around the United States. Like many recent Thai films, it concentrates on the period of war between the disparate fiefdoms of Thailand and the Burmese empire to the north -- a conflict which eventually led to the formation of the Siamese nation, and the last time Thailand was ever controlled or occupied by a foreign power (unless you count Japanese businessmen drunk on Heineken and looking for a cheap handjob). While some films have concentrated ont he complex political maneuvering that took place during the war, and others on the personality of the great Thai queen who eventually lent part of her name to the nation, Bang Rajan chooses to concentrate on lean, muscular guys in loin cloths beating the shit out of each other.

The story of the village of Bang Rajan is one of the most famous in Thai history, and while it's easy to say the film Bang Rajan was inspired by films like The Seven Samurai, it's also easy to guess that The Seven Samurai might have found some kernel of inspiration in the true story of Bang Rajan. It was a tiny rural village which, despite being grossly outmatched by Burmese forces possessed of far superior technology, numbers, and training, managed to hold out against onslaught after onslaught, costing the Burmese dearly, not to mention delivering a major blow to Burmese morale before the town finally fell. Bang Rajan the movie takes this story and treats it with an epic feel, though there's very little truly original in the film and every hoary old chestnut of this type of war movie is served up. What makes Bang Rajan fun, however, is how gung-ho it is with its elements. I'd compare it to Shiri -- a completely by-the-numbers police thriller from Korea which, despite conforming to every single genre expectation, does it so well that it becomes tremendously fun to watch the old formula again.

Bang Rajan has everything you'd expect in a movie where sassy villagers repel superior forces: the cool and calculating leader, the young hot shot, the drunken lout who will rise Toshiro Mifune style to the heights of glory and honor in battle -- nothing you haven't seen dozens of times before. But that familiarity didn't much matter to me, because Bang Rajan is full of energy and zest, not to mention solid acting, incredible cinematography, and some truly monumental moustaches. The battles are gory, informed obviously by Braveheart, but very effective, and for much of their running time, the director (Tanit Jitnukul, who helmed the similar historical battle epics Khunsuk and Khun Pan: Legend of the Warlord) manages to refrain from employing "in the thick of it" shaky cam, which I loathe so much these days.

The leading cast of men continue the modern Thai tradition of loading their films with hot guys who can actually act. Jaran Ngamdee sports a moustache that would make Rollie Fingers fall down and weep at his feet. I guess it was a fake, but the fact that Thai men ever sported moustaches this fabulous is just one example of the undying flame that enabled them to defy the Burmese army for nearly half a year. Like the other characters, he is exactly what you expect of his character, but all of them are likeable, which is more than you can say in many other Seven Samurai-inspired movies. As the drunken, axe-wielding Nai Thongmen, Bin Bunluerit became the crowd favorite and took home a best acting award for that year. He proves that the Toshiro Mifune model can still be fun, exciting, and poignant even if you already know what to expect.

The fact that the film invests real time in developing characters and familiarizing you with them, even within he confines of their cliches, makes the finale clash, when you know pretty much everyone has to die, all the more effective. And the scene of Jaran Ngamdee slashing his way across a lush green field littered with corpses, his majestic moustache flowing around him -- man, it's straight out of "dramatic war cinema 101," but it's still extremely effective. The film also sports some fine female supporting stars, but I'm just not familiar enough with hem to have much to say except that I really dig the Thai dress and hairstyle from the 1760s.

I also enjoy comparing this to similar battles from generally the same time -- say, oh, I don't know, the American Revolution. Though I'd studied plenty about that in school, I never once had any idea what might have been happening in Thailand at the same time. I wouldn't exactly call Bang Rajan a solid historical lesson, but history and folk tales underline everything that goes into the story -- and in fact, that it is so similar to Seven Samurai and countless other war and siege films is a testament to how certain folk tales permeate all cultures, and certain traits and scenarios affect populations across varied cultures and geographies.

My only real gripe about Bang Rajan are a few ill-advised forays into CGI explosions. Placed as they are amid actual actors and sword fighting and stampeding elephants, these clumsily-executed computer effects stick out like a sore thumb. But there are only a couple of them, and that's easy to overlook in the greater scheme of thing. Bang Rajan end sup being one of my favorite things: well-executed, energetic genre formula. You know what you're going to get, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still taste delicious.

Labels: Country: Thailand, Historical Epics, Netflix Diary, Year: 2000