High kicks, hot flick

Published on Apr 23, 2004
The Nation

An action movie featuring the ancient martial art of muay Thai looks set to follow in the footsteps of Hong Kong's famed kung-fu flicks

For leading French director, Luc Besson it was a case of love at first sight. Not only was he impressed with the muay Thai action of actor Phanom Yeerum, today better known in the international community as Tony Jaa, but with Prachya Pinkaew's brilliant direction of Thai flick “Ong Bak”.

Earlier this month, Besson distributed the Thai film in France and it immediately shot to fifth place in the box office rankings. Receipts have reached the US$2 million (Bt78.6 million) level, only marginally less than Jean-Jacques Annaud's “Two Brothers” and Mel Gibson's controversial movie “Passion of the Christ”.

“He [Besson] actually thanked me for the message conveyed in the film after watching it for the third time. He is interested in working with Jaa and I,” says the director who is currently busy with his upcoming Bt100 million project “Tom Yum Kung”.

After signing a minimum-guarantee deal of $1 million with Besson's Europa distribution company, Prachya and the new action actor flew to France to promote the movie with Besson, a tour that included giving interviews on television programmes. Virtually overnight, Jaa became the new action hero, after Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. He also posed for the cover shot of a French movie magazine.

The actor, a serious fan of Jackie Chan, spent years practising his beloved martial art at his home in a remote village in the Northeastern province of Surin. Although hopeful, he never really expected that his dream would come true.

Offers from major movie companies are pouring in. Among the contenders are Zhang Yimou's company Ecko, Wong Kar Wai and, of course, Besson who has already tentatively developed a treatment to work with a Thai crew.

Prachya is also happy. “There's a strong possibility that I will work with Besson. He would produce the film and Tony Jaa will play the lead,” he says.

And while he is still hoping that his favourite director Steven Spielberg has seen “Ong Bak”, he is thrilled that Besson wants to show off the real muay Thai on the big screen.

Prachya appreciates the respect that the French director shows for Chinese kung fu actors like Jet Li in “Kiss of the Dragon”.

“He knows where to dig for the real talents of the actor then uses them with complete understanding. He doesn't try to blend the action so that it conforms to the Hollywood formula, which we have witnessed in some of the Jet Li movies. He is a skilled writer and brings many rich ideas to a film,” says Prachya.

“Ong Bak” was a comeback for Prachya who had been patiently waiting for a strong story to direct for eight years. It marked the breakthrough for muay Thai in the mainstream of Thai cinema.

“I am relieved that audiences can now watch muay Thai and understand what it's about. Many people thought it was the same as kung fu. Visually, it is a new action style that deserves recognition and success,” Prachya says.

“Jaa is doing the same thing as Paradon [Srichaphan] – building up our country's reputation in the sports arena. It's a fair comparison, even though right now muay Thai is not recognised as a ‘sport'.”

“Ong Bak”'s route through the cinematic world started early last year after enjoying considerable success at home. At the Toronto Film Festival it won over viewers in the midnight madness category, featuring cult movies. “It was amazing. Although ‘Ong Bak' is a mainstream movie, we were invited to take part in the festival. The audience reaction was overwhelming. The crowd gave the movie a standing ovation,” says the director.

The film was released in Singapore last October, accompanied by a stunt show to emphasise the reality of the muay Thai scenes.

The next stop was Hong Kong where “Ong Bak” shot to the top of the box office and remained the highest ranking film for two weeks. “It was nice to receive such a welcome from the city of the Kung Fu movie,” says the director.

The only glitch so far is that “Ong Bak”'s unmitigated success has considerably delayed the shooting of “Tom Yum Kung”, another movie that will see Prachya teaming up with Jaa.

“The travelling has resulted in many changes to the script. Every time I go abroad, I come back with a new idea. Frankly, the success of ‘Ong Bak' makes me nervous about my next project,” says the director.

While “Satree Lek” and “Last Life in The Universe” are more geared to the film-festival crowd, “Ong Bak” marks a new step forward for mainstream action Thai movies. The only question is whether muay Thai will gain as great a following as kung fu.

The movie opens in Korea next month and will make its debut in Japan later in the year. To keep up with the momentum, Prachya is also intending to launch the “Ong Bak on Tour” book before the end of the year.

Parinyaporn Pajee

The Nation

 

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