Wisit Sasanatieng's film "Tears of the Black Tiger" is an unlikely candidate to satisfy a mainstream appetite, but it is easily savored as a cult film. Released at Cannes in 2001, the western/romance parody from Thailand is finally being distributed in the United States by Magnolia Films.
Dum (Chartchai Ngamsan), the son of a peasant, falls in love as a teenager with Rumpoey (Stella Malucchi), a privileged girl in his village. Despite being torn apart for years, the two maintain a longing love for one another. They reunite briefly in college, but when Dum suffers a personal tragedy, he joins a bandit gang out of vengeance, becoming the somber and weapon-savvy 'Black Tiger.'
Dum's new life as an outlaw, including a tumultuous partnership with fellow cowboy Mahesuan (Supakorn Kitsuwon), eventually leads him into the path of young police captain Kumjorn (Arawat Ruangvuth), who is in an arranged betrothal to…Rumpoey.
The plot of forbidden love is a mere spine for the film's main attraction: its exaggerated, homage-ridden style.
Director/writer Sasanatieng draws heavily from westerns, from the close-ups of Sergio Leone to the violent ambushes and gallant group journeys of Sam Peckinpah and John Ford.
In other sections, the film mimics 1950s melodrama and grainy silent footage. The entire film feels derived from a Technicolor epic: the acting, the spontaneous bursts of dramatic music, and the coloring (achieved here by having digitalized prints specially colored and re-transferred, or in some scenes, using painted studio sets).
What makes "Tears of the Black Tiger" stand out is the amusement of watching classic genre elements filtered through a campy, Thai influence.
Set in Bangkok and the tropical Thai countryside, Sasanatieng's characters live out the golden era in a surrealistic, confectionary palette of deep pinks and sea foam greens.
Music by Amornbhong Methakunavudh combines Thai songs with simple melodies suiting a lone cowboy and his tale.
Supakorn Kitsuwon is great fun as Mehasuan, complete with the thin villainous mustache and the over-acted maniacal laughter.
Released USA Jan 12, 2007. MPAA: No Rating
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