X-Treme Riders: Fast, Furious, and Thai

Kla and his friends are drug-running stunt drivers—and they are the good guys. Unfortunately, two of their fellow drivers were fatally double-crossed by the other gang they thought they were doing business with. It turns out, Kla’s sister Fun will be the featured fighter in the MMA championship sponsored by their new nemesis. Family is a big deal in movies like this, isn’t it? There is also a lot of fast driving in Sor Sangchai’s X-Treme Riders, which releases today on VOD.

In addition to their exhibitions, the X-Treme Riders also double as the special “cabbage” truck racers, until two colorful hench-people with grenade launchers ambush their latest run, killing Bank. Their boss Krit tells them to lay low, while he quickly tracks the killers back to Jo, the big city kingpin, who is also promoting Fun’s fight. Of course, Jo is pressuring her to throw the fight, because he knows she needs money for her mother’s heart-surgery.

Poor Kla has not spoken to his ailing mother in years because she blames him for his father’s accidental death—not completely without cause. Still, Kla’s teammates and their DJ, Pat, who is also his girlfriend, are a lot like his “family.” You know how that goes. Regardless, Kla and his cronies will be driving hard, while Fun fights her heart out, or not.

It is conspicuously obvious X-Treme Riders was conceived as a Thai Fast and Furious. However, it deserves credit for its willingness to go darker. Just for starters, the X-Treme Riders are flat-out drug-runners. There is also a surprisingly high mortality rate among the major cast of characters.

Xavier Gens’ Mayhem!

Whenever a foreign production shoots in Thailand, it is probably considered a mixed blessing. It is good for the film bureau and skilled local crew-members, but the finished movies usually discourage Thai tourism, like Only God Forgives, Skin Trade, and A Prayer Before Dawn. This film is a French production, but it follows in the same tradition. A French ex-con starts a new life in Thailand, but violence inevitably finds him in Xavier Gens’ Mayhem! (with an exclamation point), which opens today in New York.

Samir Darba wanted to go straight when he left prison, but his old drug gang had other ideas. When they got rough about it, Darba accidentally killed to gang leader’s brother. Somehow, he slipped out of France, making his way to Thailand, where he was living peacefully with the half-French Mia and her young daughter Dara. It was all good until they try to buy a stretch of beachfront land, which brings them into conflict with Narong, an expat French gangster.

Initially, Narong demands a favor, but when his scheme goes south, he decides to punish Darba. Although left for dead, Darba’s Muay Thai coach Hansa nurses him back to health. With Hansa’s help, Darba sets out to rescue the kidnapped Dara, doing his best to damage Narong’s illicit business in the process.

It takes over forty minutes for Mayhem! to really get going, but when it does, the action comes at the audience hard and fast, like runaway freight train. This is definitely the best film Gens directed that has been released in America and the brutal fight sequences matches the style and intensity of the Gangs of London episodes he helmed. Seriously, the action in Mayhem! is no joke. It is probably even more brutally realistic than that of the Raid duology.

Fantasia ’17: Broken Sword Hero

King Taksin defeated the constant waves of Burmese invaders, unified his country as the Thonburi Kingdom, and promoted trade with the European powers. Of course, he did not do it alone. Initially, the bullied Joi does not look like he will be much help to anyone, particularly himself. However, destiny has different plans in Bin Bunluerit’s Broken Sword Hero (trailer here), which screens during the 2017 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Unless you really know your Thai history, forget about the sword and focus on the hero. That will be Joi—eventually. It would seem like fate dealt him a tough break, considering the regional governor’s entitled son Cherd is his chief tormentor. When he finally fights back hard enough to draw blood, Joi resigns himself to a life of exile. Living by his wits, he becomes a talented Muay Thai fighter. Unfortunately, that will not be enough to defeat a true master. At least he learns an important early lesson: humility. From then on, Thongdee (as the white-teethed, betelnut abstainer is now known) will study any discipline, under any master with a unique specialty.

Along the way, Thongdee makes some real friends and serves his successive masters faithfully. Periodically, he will face off against his old nemesis Cherd and his corrupt uncle. Although Thongdee is still an outlaw, his good deeds and multi-disciplinary martial arts skills start to attract the attention of a mysterious mustachioed observer.

Bunluerit must be a heck of a persuasive director, because he convinced former Miss Teen Thailand Sornsin Maneewan to portray Thongdee’s potential love interest Ramyong with betelnut-stained teeth. Chutirada Junthit was doubly lucky to play Mauylek, an itinerant Chinese opera performer and marital artist, because she was spared the betelnut and had the chance to show off her own action chops in some of the action sequences.

Of course, the film is clearly intended to launch Muay Thai champion Sombat “Buakaw” Banchamek as the next Tony Jaa. There is no question he has the skills and the super-chiseled physique. Granted, his screen presence will not exactly blow you through the back wall of the theater, but he has greater emotional range than Van Damme and Schwarzenegger displayed early in their careers (or arguably even in their latest films). Still, he is not another Tony Jaa yet, but it isn’t for a lack of effort. He brings tremendous physicality to the action scenes, which should earn him good will from fans right from the start.

If you are looking for bare-chested, fist-pumping, sword-shattering action, Bunluerit and Buakaw deliver over and over again. Again, it is important to remember this is an origins story, so don’t get hung up waiting for a sword to break. Instead, just let the spectacle of flying elbows and knees wash over you. Highly recommended for martial arts fans, especially those who appreciate the Southeast Asian historical elements, Broken Sword Hero screens today (7/23) at this year’s Fantasia.

The Angela Mao Ying Collection: The Tournament

Who knew kung fu was so bureaucratic? Not surprisingly, the Chinese Kung Fu Association is all about keeping up appearances and closing ranks. Unfortunately, Master Lau finds himself effectively black-balled when his son and a fellow student are humiliated in Thailand by Muay Thai fighters. However, he also has a daughter. There will be some avenging to do in Feng Huang’s The Tournament, which is included in The Angela Mao Ying Collection now available from Shout Factory.

Fighters are not legally responsible for deaths in the ring during Thailand’s mixed martial arts matches. Nevertheless, Pepsi evidently signed on as a sponsor. Eager to showcase Muay Thai’s dominance, agents regularly try to recruit Chinese Kung Fu practitioners, offering them large sums just to participate. When loan sharks kidnap the sister of one of Master Lau’s students, he and Lau’s son Hong reluctantly accept. Hong loses badly, but at least he survives. His friend is not so lucky. The shame wrought by the scandalized Kung Fu Association effectively kills Master Lau as well.

Despite their denigration of Lau’s Kung Fu, nobody can best his daughter, Siu Fung. Yet, she only outrages the provincial fools further when she vows to study Muay Thai, in order to develop tactics to beat it. The Association’s decent but ineffectual director has a colleague in Thailand who can help. Under his tutelage, Hong and Siu Fung (with a new boyish coif) will win some redemption in the ring, but this earns them further enemies amongst their mobbed-up opponents.

Arguably, Tournament is a sort of MMA movie-forerunner, in which Kung Fu, Muay Thai, and karate all face each other at some point. It also offers a rare look at Mao without her trademark braids. However, Sammo Hung’s presence as co-action director and one of Lau’s pig-headed colleagues is a welcome guarantee of quality control. He deals with the gloves and pads well enough, but the action in the ring pales in comparison to Mao’s three major throw-downs, including an Odysseus-like coda in which the returning Siu Fu and Hong must eject an interloping Japanese karate dojo from their father’s studio.

Of course, Mao is in her element as the disciplined, outside-the-box Siu Fu. Her frequent co-star Carter Huang is reasonably serviceable (again) as Hong. Hung also gets a chance to show some of the charisma that would be apparent in later films. However, the villains are a rather interchangeable lot of moustache-twisting types.

The Tournament might be a bit programmatic (in a Golden Harvest sort of way), but it is a fine example of Mao and Hung doing their thing, which is also worth seeing. Frankly, it would be nice to have a few more like this. Easily recommended for Mao fans and martial arts connoisseurs, The Tournament is now available on DVD as part of Shout Factory’s Angela Mao Ying Collection.

Muay Thai Warrior: Yamada, Ayothaya’s Samurai

For displaced ronin, Ayothaya-era Thailand was not such a bad place to relocate.  There was a considerable Japanese colony, steady work as mercenaries, and good diplomatic ties with their homeland.  Unfortunately, a secret cabal is out to overturn the existing order, but they will have to contend with the legendary hero Yamada Nagamasa in Nopporn Watin’s Muay Thai Warrior (a.k.a. Yamada: the Samurai of Ayothaya, trailer here), which releases today on DVD and Bluray from Well Go USA.

Attached to the Japanese Volunteer Army, Yamada and his comrades are tasked with apprehending roving gangs of Hongsawadee raiders, Ayothaya’s sworn enemies defeated but not vanquished by King Naresuan in the recent Elephant War.  However, when Yamada and his men get their hands on a few (dead of course) they are disturbed to find they are Japanese.  This is dangerous information that nearly costs Yamada his life.  Fortunately, Kham and his fellow imperial bodyguards interrupt the ambush just in the nick of time.

Badly beaten, Yamada is taken to Kham’s village to recuperate.  It is the first time Yamada finds himself at peace, aside for the occasional assassin sent to rub him out.  Kham’s sister Champa certainly makes an impression on him, but he also forges a deep friendship with the fierce Muay Thai fighter.  With the help of the Buddhist monk and trusted advisor royal advisor Phra Khru, Yamada learns Muay Thai in hopes of joining the King’s elite bodyguards.  He also has some unfinished business with his renegade countrymen.

As an exercise in comparing and contrasting various forms of martial arts, Muay Thai definitely has the advantage in MTW.  Whereas it utilizes knees and elbows to devastating effect, the styles of their rivals largely seem to involve impaling one’s self on your opponent’s sword.  At least that is how it looks during the massive Hongsawadee beatdown.  It is certainly cinematic though, as are the torch-lit showdowns between Yamada and the evil Japanese mastermind.

Seigi Ozeki an engaging action figure, even if he does not quite have the skills of the real life mustachioed Muay Thai boxers cast around him.  Likewise, Kanokkorn Jaicheun is a charismatic presence as Yamada’s chaste love interest.  Most notably for Thai film patrons, Sorapong Chatree brings stately gravitas as Phra Khru, more or less reprising his role in HSH Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol’s epic Kingdom of War.

Lushly lensed by cinematographer Chuchart Nantittanyathada, MTW features stunning locales and rich period settings.  Oddly enough, it is the fight choreography that is rather inconsistent.  Still, it is a rather stirring depiction of honor and loyalty by choice rather than accident of birth.  Conceived to mark 124 years of Thai-Japanese diplomatic relations (and just how did you observe the anniversary?), Muay Thai Warrior will certainly entertain fans of historicals loaded with action and intrigue.  It is now available for home viewing from Well Go USA.

Slamdance ’12: Buffalo Girls

There are no participation medals in boxing. One fighter wins and the other loses. Audiences will be acutely aware of this fact while watching Todd Kellstein’s documentary Buffalo Girls (trailer here), an up-close and personal glimpse into the lives of two eight year-old girls who fight to support their families. Be forewarned, it is a real heart-wrencher, which screens during the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City.

Technically, the child Muay Thai boxing circuit operates underground, but nobody seems too concerned about being caught. Young Stam Sor Con Lek is widely known as a champion in her age and weight division. Pet Chor Chanachai is the leading contender. Both sweet-tempered young girls are their families’ primary breadwinners. In hope of a better life, they train like professionals and give it all in the ring, without the benefit of head-gear.

Although both girls insist they want to fight, one has to wonder. Granted, there are not a lot of options in rural Thailand (where peasants are derogatorily called “buffalo” for their stoic fortitude, hence the title) and a successful child fighter can make thousands of Baht in a match. However, that is an awful lot of stress for an eight year-old to carry, not to mention the physical toll.

Largely filmed observational-style with only the occasional on-camera question asked through interpreters, Kellstein follows the girls through three bouts, culminating with the title fight for all the marbles. Unlike nearly every other boxing film ever produced, it is impossible to pick a side to root for. Stam and Pet are equally bright and engaging. (Their parents are a different matter though. Some viewers might want to see them go a few rounds with the Klitschko brothers to see how they like it.) Clearly, the young girls ought to be in school studying for a productive future rather than the ring, but in Thailand that is much easier said than done.

Gaining intimate access to the two girls’ home and training programs, Kellstein gives viewers a visceral sense of their daily living conditions and prospects. It is impossible not to care deeply about them after the first two or three minutes. Hopefully, if Buffalo Girls gains traction, there are mechanisms already in place for Stam and Pet to benefit, because they unquestionably deserve it. Recommended for those who can handle raw reality, Buffalo Girls screens this Sunday (1/22) and the following Tuesday (1/24) as part of this year’s Slamdance Festival in Park City.

Slamdance also has a full slate of narrative features, including Kristina Nikolova’s sensual and cerebral Faith, Love + Whiskey, which vividly captures a sense of the displacement experienced by a Bulgarian expat on her return home from America. Its depiction of Bulgarian nightlife (with its surprisingly catchy club music) ought to well suit Park City audiences when it screens tonight (1/20) and Wednesday (1/25). Slamdance will also screen Final Curtain, a never before seen television pilot, written, produced, and directed by the now legendary Ed Wood that cries out to be seen with an appreciative and slightly ruckus audience this coming Monday night (1/23).