"King Naresuan"
Tamnan somdej phra nare-suan maharaj: ton ong prakan hongsa (Thailand)
Thailand's highest-grossing film until it was bested by its sequel,
"King Naresuan" is a lavish historical drama with a screenplay that's a
major challenge for non-Thai auds to follow. The first chapter in royal
helmer M.C.Chatrichalerm Yukol's three-part biography of the
16th-century hero is populated by a telephone book's worth of
characters and byzantine plotting around the story of the future
monarch's childhood. Released locally Jan. 18, the blockbuster is
highly unlikely to play offshore, though carefully selected parts could
be worked into an export-viable condensation.
Originally a single
entity funded by a $20 million government grant, "Naresuan" ballooned
into a two-parter, with "King Naresuan: The Reclamation of Sovereignty"
shipped into cinemas while the first film was still playing. A third
chapter is set for release Dec. 5, the 80th birthday of revered Thai
King Bhumibol Adulyadej. At double the budget of Yukol's previous epic,
"Suriyothai" (2001) -- later reworked into the Francis Ford
Coppola-presented "The Legend of Suriyothai" (2003) -- "Naresuan" is
also popular entertainment made in the national interest of a land
where royalty is treated with the utmost respect.
Through a maze
of maps and voiceovers relating to the state of play in the region in
1564, it emerges that 9-year-old Prince Naresuan of Ayutthaya (roughly
modern Thailand) is to be held hostage by dominant power Hongsawadee
(Burma) to ensure the smaller state's fealty. Already greeting the
heads of rival kingdoms with, "I only show respect to those who deserve
it," the spirited lad (Pratcha Sananwatananont) is immediately adopted
by wily Burmese ruler Buyinong (Sompob Benchanukul) as his favorite son.
Educated
by wise monk Kanchong (Sorapong Chatree) and eschewing the trappings of
his royal status, Naresuan finds playmates in street urchin Bunthing
(Jirayu La-Ongmanee) and cute girl Maneechan (Suchada Chekly). Most
accessible part of the drama is the bond formed by the odd trio, whose
cheeky adventures prove much more entertaining than all the
maneuverings in Burma and surrounding kingdoms.
Stodgy through
non-Thai eyes -- yet vital in expressing the real way in which
protocols were observed -- are the many lengthy scenes in which
prostrate subjects listen to rulers plotting from lofty thrones in
ornately decorated palaces. Theatrical thesping and an inevitably
limited range of shooting options cause many of these sequences to haze
out into an amorphous mass.
Infrequent battle scenes with
thousands of extras dressed in eye-catching armor are excitingly
staged, though the old-fashioned execution recalls "El Cid"-era epics
much more than hyperkinetic modern spectacles like "300."
Adequate
perfs are overshadowed by the no-expense-spared look of the enterprise.
Production design, costuming and lensing on a 700-acre purpose-built
set are all deluxe. Some not-so-deluxe CGI creeps in during battle
scenes.
Click here to read the review of the second film in the "King Naresuan" series.
Camera (color), Stanislav Dorsic, Natthawut Kittikun; editors, M.C.
Chatrichalerm Yukol, M.R. Pattamanadda Yukol; music, Richard Harvey;
production designers, Prasopchok Thanasetvilai, Prasert Posrirat;
costume designer, Kamla Yukol; sound (Dolby Digital), Conrad Bradley
Slater. Reviewed at Bangkok Film Festival (Thai Panorama), July 24,
2007. Running time: 165 MIN.
© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
There is a problem with the comment system, or you do not have javascript enabled.
 |
Variety Asia RSS
Kaiju Shakedown RSS