Review

Review Date: 6-March-05
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2005*)

Did you ever wonder whether the Buddha or Jesus would enjoy a matinee? "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" got me thinking about this, and I feel pretty confident the answer is No. We run-of-the-mill humans are a righteous bunch incapable of appreciating enlightenment without struggle, devotion without pain. It isn't natural for us to forsake vehement emotion or consistently love our neighbor, since that would remove the opportunity to show that some things are worth fighting for and heroes are warriors for justice. Glorious humanity! Our beauty is in our very flaws, and honest-to-god saints couldn't understand what makes our folk tales, now transmitted through the medium of film, such a pleasure to behold.

For example: of all the stories bandied about by man, the one in which the simple, virtuous champion is forced to battle hell-bent, reprobate bastards is perfectly attuned to mortals but antithetical to the divinity it usually evokes. We admire Arthur for desiring peace, but remember him for waging war. We respect Gary Cooper for turning in his badge and taking a Quaker wife, but idolize him for shooting the shit out of vengeful outlaws. And in "Ong-Bak" we sympathize with the young rube who leaves his village to retrieve a sacred statue, but feel rewarded for our eight bucks when he starts to kick ass. The point is, the really good yarns are those where the meek inherit the earth by rising up and taking it in the name of a hallowed cause.

Falling in with long-standing tradition, "Ong-Bak" is a classic story of decency smacking down wickedness. In one corner we have modern emblems like drugs, urban life, Westerners, and a villain who can't speak without the aid of technology (Sukhaaw Phongwilai); in the other corner we have the old ways of tribalism, Buddhist monks, revered grandmothers, and a hero who, in the marvelous opening scene, proves his manhood by climbing a tree. (The clash of these forces is represented in microcosm by the sidekick, played by Petchthai Wongkamlao.) There's never any doubt which side we ought to be on, but our attachment to the good guy directly results from the violence he applies toward his pious end — a violence, I might add, made possible by a most un-modern degree of concentration and patience that has allowed him to obtain complete mastery over his body.

And this, of course, is the movie's real claim to fame. Audiences won't go to see "Ong-Bak" because of its narrative significance but because its leading man, Tony Jaa, is an up-and-coming master of Muay Thai, a martial art that apparently combines boxing, karate, and gymnastics into a deadly type of dance. Perfectly cast for his outwardly quiet demeanor, Jaa explodes into a dynamo of mounting savagery as the movie builds to its finale — without, as the promos boast, any CGI or stunt doubles. (In lieu of such trickery, director Prachya Pinkaew replays the major acrobatics two or three times over to maximize their effect.) One might wish that the fight scenes were shot in a little more light, but the action is quite spectacular, from a lively chase through the alleys of Bangkok to the big showdown in which the Buddha himself throws a punch. "Ong-Bak" succeeds because the story makes violence worth rooting for and the star makes violence worth watching.

*U.S. release date.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.