Twenty-five years ago, I saw some Muay Thai live in it's motherland, both men's fights and - breaking with the tradition - women's fights. Both were of the fiercest kind I've seen, in comparison with any other combat sport. Ong-bak is certainly a film produced with an eye on export sales, but if it had not been tampered with - in music or dubbed dialogues - one would also have a small treaty on Thai traditional values of family bonds, loyalty, justified back-stepping from 'new urban values' (such as illicit games, drug abuse, stealing). If shouldn't miss the fundamental opening scene, in which the village's young-men, some thirty of them, fight against a huge tree and each other to gain a simple yellow scarf. Because those blows and heavy falls from about a first or even a second floor balcony, are conducted in an open air location (marvellous set, too) and the grass is not fluffy enough to absorb the pain those guys took, besides hitting their bodies on the tree trunks, on their way down. The scene is intriguing for us Westerners, who do not know a thing about Thai culture - but then the following scene explains it all. Bravery is then a part of Ting's personality, embedded since a tender age. But so is respect for the village's religious belief, and the respect of elders. Eventually, the film narrates two stories - that of Ting, in a search for the robbed head of a Buddha statue (because there is always a fence for robbed art somewhere in OUR urban culture) - and the story of Humlee aka George, a fellow man who forgot his duty towards the Nong Pradu people, and now lives out a sordid life in the big town. The closing scene is the return to the small village, with the triumph of folklore and positive values.
I saw this film in its theatrical release in Europe, and now again in «For Thai Only. Not For Export" Region 9 DVD by Bad-Ram-Ewec, in anamorphic widescreen but Dolby digital surround sound, Thai language only of course. I regret the loss of light in this version from the theatrical one, but the original Thai soundtrack is better, more to the point in underlining scenes than the so-called French (Luc Besson) or UK versions. I had no problems watching this DVD on a multi system player, and I'm sure I will come back to it at least once a year. Even without subtitles, it's one of the best in my collection.
I saw this film in its theatrical release in Europe, and now again in «For Thai Only. Not For Export" Region 9 DVD by Bad-Ram-Ewec, in anamorphic widescreen but Dolby digital surround sound, Thai language only of course. I regret the loss of light in this version from the theatrical one, but the original Thai soundtrack is better, more to the point in underlining scenes than the so-called French (Luc Besson) or UK versions. I had no problems watching this DVD on a multi system player, and I'm sure I will come back to it at least once a year. Even without subtitles, it's one of the best in my collection.