Movie Review: King Naresuan

Peter NellhausJan 19th, 2007 - 11:54:35

I was hoping to cover this film when it opened in Chiang Mai. 'King Naresuan' did finally show up in theaters one day late. None of the prints here have English subtitles so my review on my own site will be a little less than timely. I am of course assuming that a subtitled print will play here, with Prince Chatri's film given the same kind of presentation as was given for 'Noodle Boxer' and 'Letters of Death'.

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Scott Rosenberg, movie editorJan 19th, 2007 - 12:08:53

Tan Mui has been having a hell of a time with his post production company, Oriental Post.

Movie should have had subtitles on preview night as well BUT problems in the lab with cuts, sound etc. caused great delay.

Couple that with the director's meticulous care for what ends up on celluloid and you can understand why the delay.

Eventually film will have English subtitles but subtitles are not going to solve the visual outlay on film.

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Anthony - BangkokJan 24th, 2007 - 01:43:59

So... does the movie have subtitles or not? As an American living in Bangkok and interested in history is it worth my while to see this film? I am interested in seeing a good story with historical accuracy. Is this that film?

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Scott RosenbergJan 24th, 2007 - 02:51:02

Subtitled movie is now available at many locations around Bangkok.

I was personally with a film director (U Mynt Soe) from Myanmar (Burma - and yes, there is a film industry in Myanmar). I asked him and several others in his party if the film was accurate, costumes look genuine, etc. (they saw the film day before I met them WITHOUT English subtitles - no they did not understand the Thai).

They said film history was not very accurate and while costumes looked good - they too were not exactly accruate.

Hope that answers your questions.

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Ed NederlanderFeb 12th, 2007 - 05:16:44

I went to see this film on general release - and yes, it did have subtitles - and frankly was underwhelmed.

The best word I can find for the whole presentation is 'flat'. At three hours, the film is overly long and you come away feeling no sympathy for any of the characters, most of whom recite their lines with a sort of epic lethargy. Also, several themes are overly extended (yes - we get it! The fighting cock is a symbol of Siam's national pride and willingness to fight in adversity. We got it the first time), and this just drags the pace even further.

To be fair, I assume that the target audience will know the plot already, so the rather dull 'then they did this, then they did that' narration should be sufficient to move things along. For a non-Thai viewer, it all got a bit confusing - but then I guess a film about The Wars of the Roses would seem similarly convoluted to Thai eyes.

The production design is, as you would expect, opulent but the battle scenes (such as they are) seem to have been shot in one straight sequence and then sliced and diced throughout the film. Actually, that criticism is bit unfair: the warriors do wear slightly differently-shaped hats in some battles. The role of the Spanish mercenaries is never really explained or explored, but again the audience probably knows their history.

Most of the drama and characterization rests on the slender (or in case of the central character, not so slender) shoulders of child actors and quite frankly they are not up to the task, even though the central character has vaguely defined magical powers bestowed on him by the Head Monk (who seems to have wandered in from a remake of the cult TV series Kung Fu); one inherited power, certainly, is his ability not to appear to age during the entire duration of Part 1's events.

The adult characters are basic caricatures (the wise but cruel king, the turncoat general, the noble princess, the village idiot, etc.), and their main function is to describe the more extravagant events that took place just off camera. Basically, they let the scenery do most of the acting. The supporting cast and extras are hopeless – gurning and mugging like Roman spear bearers in an amateur drama class.

Although this film is rooted firmly in Thai culture and Thai history, it still manages to be slightly derivative. In the closing act particularly, I half expected Gandalf the Gray to pop up; by the time the credits rolled and the English language, cross-over power ballad comes crashing in (available at all good record shops) I was convinced that the Boy Who Would be King was on his way to Mordor. Weird.

From the trailers, it looks like Episode 2 will have a lot more bite to it, as well as having a much more adult flavor. Maybe you should rent Part 1 on DVD and save your strength for Part 2’s cinema release. Three hours is a long time to spend watching 60 minutes-worth of action and characterization, even if it is based on historical fact and filmed in sumptious color.

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