spoiler Review: Prachya Pinkaew’s CHOCOLATE

[Gaz6002]

I watched Prachya Pinkaew’s CHOCOLATE last night:

 

http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/prachya-pinkaews-ass-kicking-chocolate-hits-english-subtitled-dvd-june-3rd/

 

The first thing I noticed about this film was the subtitles. The version I got was very much a literal translation from Thai to Engrish

 

As such, the three of us watching had very little idea what was going on throughout the film. The main parts of the story were pretty easy to guess but the intricities went over our heads.

 

Saying that, the film itself is a work of art. It combines the typical Thai style direction that has become so popular recently with a policy of using no CGI and no stuntmen. The end result is a savagely beautiful number which I guess could be called a Thai connection strand between Ong Bak and Tom Yung Goon. Indeed, there are several appearences by Tony Jaa himself.

 

The story is of a couple who are deep into the gangster lifestyle. As events unfold they leave this life behind and settle down to have a child. The child unfortunately is born Autistic but very early on in life is seen to be rather special.

 

As the story unfolds into the main scenes the child has grown into an extremely dangerous teen who travels with her unathletic brother to various gangsters, calling in her Mothers old debts from before she left gangland. The reason for the sudden need for money: Cancer has taken a massive toll on the Mother who is now unable to work and support the family. She must go into hospital but that costs money.

 

Our star child battles through several gangs of bad guys, showing off some simply amazing skills coupled with the obvious talent this director has for fight-scene screenplay.

 

By far the best scene in the film is right near the end and you get the impression that the whole piece has been engineered to lead up to this point. The stunts are unbelievably dangerous and typically Thai. There is a heavy Muay-Thai influence and that's a wonderful thing as the aesthetics of that particular fighting style provoke ground-breaking concepts which are all too evident in this film.

 

The end of the story is dealt with in a timely fashion, answering your questions but provoking more at the same time. I'll be shocked if there isn't a follow up piece and I must say will be quite disappointed.

 

For me the film gets an 8 out of 10 for presentation although the distibutors in Europe and the USA will need to work on the subtitling if it is to be a major release. I wouldn't say it's as good as Ong Bak, but let's be honest: that's a hard task for anyone.