Along with Rene Clement's Les maudits (1947) Julien Duvivier's Chair De Poule (1963) (CDP) was part of a double viewing which led to me becoming a fan of French Film Noir. Reading dbdumonteil's CDP review in 2013,I was surprised to find out that there was a Thai remake! Looking for anything about it,I found nothing but dead-ends,with not even a poster image turning up. Taking part in a best of 1991 movies on ICM in 2018,I was looking for titles to view,and stumbled on the video of this film,which led to me finally seeing the dumb die fast.
View on the film:
Oiled up by a brooding dark-synch score from an uncredited composer, the first hour of writer/director Manop Udomdej's adaptation stays close in following the tracks of Chair De Poule's (CDP) plot outline. The biggest difference Udomdej makes is for the dialogue to be coarsely cut, reflecting Salak's common thief/dirt-poor Noir loner background, and sniping comments at tension over the "difficult" political situation in Thailand. Cracking open the safe, Udomdej moves the simmering mood of CDP for a rough and ready Punk tale, strung by Salak and Chanang being constantly abrasive,and the arrival of Salak's old cell-mate Tuang proving that threes a crowd.
Appearing to do the "night time" scenes as day for night, Udomdej & cinematographer Sutas Indrenuphakorn stir up a fittingly rustic atmosphere of the oil station being in bone-dry surroundings where blood money and oil are the only liquid in town. Pounding what little loyalty they shared with an explosive shoot-out, Udomdej cheekily gives the ending an initial appearance of optimism, until a wonderfully left-field cross cutting montage slams the door shut. Lacking the sensuality Catherine Rouvel gave the role in CDP, Angkana Timdee drives an ice queen spike into the movie as the stern, ruthless Chanang. Greeted warmly by Manop Asawatap's Boonpreng, Surasak Wongthai strikes a fine balance over Salak wanting to be loyal, but running a fever of his brutal past being uncovered as the dumb die fast and the smart die slow.
View on the film:
Oiled up by a brooding dark-synch score from an uncredited composer, the first hour of writer/director Manop Udomdej's adaptation stays close in following the tracks of Chair De Poule's (CDP) plot outline. The biggest difference Udomdej makes is for the dialogue to be coarsely cut, reflecting Salak's common thief/dirt-poor Noir loner background, and sniping comments at tension over the "difficult" political situation in Thailand. Cracking open the safe, Udomdej moves the simmering mood of CDP for a rough and ready Punk tale, strung by Salak and Chanang being constantly abrasive,and the arrival of Salak's old cell-mate Tuang proving that threes a crowd.
Appearing to do the "night time" scenes as day for night, Udomdej & cinematographer Sutas Indrenuphakorn stir up a fittingly rustic atmosphere of the oil station being in bone-dry surroundings where blood money and oil are the only liquid in town. Pounding what little loyalty they shared with an explosive shoot-out, Udomdej cheekily gives the ending an initial appearance of optimism, until a wonderfully left-field cross cutting montage slams the door shut. Lacking the sensuality Catherine Rouvel gave the role in CDP, Angkana Timdee drives an ice queen spike into the movie as the stern, ruthless Chanang. Greeted warmly by Manop Asawatap's Boonpreng, Surasak Wongthai strikes a fine balance over Salak wanting to be loyal, but running a fever of his brutal past being uncovered as the dumb die fast and the smart die slow.
