Film: Pirates Of Langkasuka
Release date: 8th November 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 114 mins
Director: Nonzee Nimibutr
Starring: Dan Chupong, Ananda Everingham, Jakrit Panichpatikam, Jesdaporn Pholdee, Anna Ris
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy/History
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Thailand
Originally released in 2008, Puen Yai Jom Salad has been translated into a variety of titles for the international market - from The Legend Of The Tsunami Warrior to the Queens Of Langkasuka, and coming to UK screens as Pirates Of Langkasuka. That each of these alternate titles focuses on a different aspect of the movie hints at just how much Thai director Nonzee Nimibutr has going on within his big budget blockbuster.
In the year 1600 A.D., Queen Hijau of Langkasuka faces coordinated assassination attempts from the villainous Prince Rawai and the pirates’ ringleader Black Raven. Forced to forge reluctant alliances with the Chinese and the Dutch, the queen also marries off one of her younger sisters, Princess Ungu, to the Malay Prince of Pahang.
The Dutch send a powerful cannon to assist the queen, but the ship is hijacked by the pirates, and in the ensuing struggle, the ship is blown up. The cannon sinks into the abyss of the ocean, thereafter made unreachable by the impenetrable depths and a guard of jellyfish.
Recovering the cannon becomes a source of mounting obsession for both sides, as does tracking down Lim Kium, the canon-maker’s apprentice, who is rumoured to have survived the disaster.
Against this background, Prince Rawai recruits Black Ray, the hermit with powers of black magic able to rescue the cannon; and Queen Hijau solicits the help from two men: martial arts master Jarang, and Pari, who is the hermit’s prodigy student, as well as an orphan with a personal vendetta against Black Raven.
As a huge armada of pirate ships, bolstered by recruits from Japan and Java, bears down on Langkasuka, the scene is set for a climactic battle destined to go down in legend…
Given its UK title, expectations are immediately set low in anticipation of an Asian answer to Pirates Of The Caribbean with added martial arts. Depressing enough that Hollywood is set for a fourth instalment of a franchise originally based on a theme park ride without Asia getting in on the action, the most you might be expecting from this Thai movie is at least the eternally pointless Orlando Bloom won’t be making an appearance. It comes as a pleasant surprise, then, that Pirates Of Langkasuka often proves a highly entertaining and inventive movie, even if it does falter on occasions under the weight of its own ambition.
In every sense of the word, this is a blockbuster. In Nonzee Nimibutr, it has a director who has shaped the landscape of modern Thai cinema in the late-90s; screenwriter Win Lyovari, one of Thailand’s most renowned novelists; and an all-star cast that includes a return to the big screen of Jarunee Suksawat after a decade’s absence, as well as stars from Ong-Bak and Shutter. In addition, every penny of its gargantuan budget appears on screen in lavish costumes, ornate set decoration and grandiose visual effects.
Some of it may have been based on actual historical events, but if you’re after an accurate recreation of life in 17th century Malay, Pirates Of Langkasuka isn’t that film. After an opening ten minutes in which a man soars through the sky in a self-made flying machine and a group of assassins demonstrate a Matrix-like ability to defy the laws of physics, it becomes clear this is very much from the 300 school of historical accuracy. Far less cynical than the revisionism of a Pearl Harbour, or much of the propagandistic historical films currently coming out of China, it’s an unashamedly fantastical movie. That being the case, it’s okay if Dan Chupong leaps in the air and flies around a bit during fight scenes which mix swordsmanship with Muay Thai to thrilling effect, just as it’s no big deal that you’re unlikely to find any mention of ninja pirates in the history books.
Pirates Of Langkasuka was originally intended as a two-part tale, but commercial considerations forced Nimibutr to condense it into one 114-minute movie. This does show. The film is overloaded with two many subplots, often overcrowding the film and the viewer’s memory of people and events. As a result, scenes such as Pari returning to his village to find the entire population, including his new wife, brutally massacred, are dealt with too briefly to hold the impact they should.
The condensed plot also takes a toll on the performances, as each of the all-star cast receives too short of a screen time to develop their characters, or fully demonstrate their talents. They come with some big reputations but there’s little on screen here to justify it. The much-heralded return of Jarunee Suksawat is a disappointment, as the veteran actress coasts through the film, and the performances of Winai Kraibutr (Nang Nak) and Dan Chupong (Ong-Bak, Dynamite Warrior) are equally underwhelming. Ananda Everingham, in particular, a huge star in Thailand, with a reputation as a fine versatile actor, often appears as little more than eye-candy for the girls, complete with a scene where he emerges Daniel Craig-like from the sea clad only in a skimpy loincloth. The only truly memorable performance comes from Jakkrit Phanichphatikram as the cannon-maker’s apprentice, Lium Kiam.
All these shortcomings are more or less forgotten, though, come the film’s literally explosive climax, a spectacular clash between the pirates and some impressively large cannons. Nimibutr, aware there’s only so much mileage to be had from the spectacle of a cannon repeatedly shelling ships, throws into the mix dive-bombing hang-gliders, Du Lum sorcerers and one very angry CGI whale. And if you’ve been waiting all your life for the chance to watch a man battle an armada of pirate ships while riding a giant manta-ray, Pirates Of Langkasuka just might be your DVD release of the year.
Fans of Asian cinema, enticed by the impressive credentials on show, may find that Pirates Of Langkasuka promises more than it actually delivers. For everyone else, Nimibutr’s movie is a mildly diverting and enjoyable enough piece of popcorn fodder. GJK
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