Runtime: 99 minutes
Directed by: Xavier Gens
Starring: Nassim Lyes, Loryn Nounay, Olivier Gourmet, Chananticha Chaipa, Vithaya Pansringarm
From: Several different French companies
While not a Thai movie, it was still nice to see a quality action film set in Thailand. For about a decade there was this whole run of genre efforts from that country, and not just those that starred Tony Jaa. Suddenly, that scene seemed to vanish. In fact, a messageboard discussion about this topic spurned me to view this film, a French production which was mostly filmed in Thailand.
We follow Sam, a criminal just released from the slammer on probation. He tries to turn his life around, despite the badgering of his former cohorts who expect his return. An event happens and Sam flees to Thailand. Five years later, another event happens while Sam is attempting to provide for his girlfriend & her daughter. The first hour does not have much action but the story does a nice job of building for the release of the final act.
That final act: it has Dudes Getting Wrecked ™ and as this was directed by Xavier Gens of Frontier(s) fame, of course there are bloody/gruesome moments where the claret really flowed. The style was on the flashy side but the action (usually) wasn’t irritating to watch. The plot isn’t revolutionary… which is a relief in this case. Insufferable modern tropes like “subverting expectations” or “shades of grey” or “unnecessary humor” thankfully were not present here. Instead, the plot was fine and it didn’t need to be more than that. Plus, Vithaya Pansringarm of Only God Forgives fame as a prominent supporting role. Personally, this is MUCH preferable to the smugness and pretentiousness of Only God Forgives!
As has always happened for years now, a picture like this will get compared to The Raid and John Wick. Of course this doesn’t reach those heights; that said, Farang-its original title, Thai slang for “Westerner”-is better than some examples I have come across through the years.
No comments:
Post a Comment