Fah talai jone (2000)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Wisit Sasanatieng

Writer:

Wisit Sasanatieng (writer)

Release Date:

9 August 2001 (Singapore)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Romance

Plot:

With its loud acting style, exuberant sets and stunning shots in pastel colours, this Thai cult film is as much a parody as an homage to the Western and the romantic tearjerker.

Plot Keywords:

Shootout | Outlaw | Gun | Thailand | Blood

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Chartchai Ngamsan	...	Black Tiger
Suwinit Panjamawat	...	Dum (Black Tiger Youth)
Stella Malucchi	...	Rumpoey
Supakorn Kitsuwon	...	Mahesuan
Arawat Ruangvuth	...	Police Captain Kumjorn
Sombat Metanee	...	Fai
Pairoj Jaisingha	...	Phya Prasit
Naiyana Sheewanun	...	Rumpoey's maid
Kanchit Kwanpracha	...	Kamnan Dua
Chamloen Sridang	...	Sergeant Yam
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Philip Hersh	...	Dum (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

Tears of the Black Tiger (International: English title)

Runtime:

110 min | UK:101 min

Country:

Thailand

Language:

Thai

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:16 | Finland:K-15 | USA:Unrated | Australia:MA | France:U | Netherlands:16 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | Italy:T

Company:

Aichi Arts Center

Trivia:

The meaning of the title of this movie is "The Prince of the Bunch of Robbers" (Fáa (short for Jâo Fáa) "Prince"; Thálaay - "Bunch", "Cluster" (mostly used for bunches of are-ca nuts or coconuts; Wisit Sasanatieng's joke. "Thálaay" written slightly different, without "sàrà' à'", but with the same pronunciation, means "destroy"); "Jone" - "Robber", "Bandit". The title of the movie is meant to be a little out of the ordinary, as Wisit has mentioned in several interviews on TV.

Quotes:

Mahesuan: By everything sacred in this world, I, Mahesuan, swear, with the Buddha as my witness, I'll always be true and loyal to my blood brother, Dom, the Black Tiger who saved my life. If I break this oath, may his gun take my life.

Movie Connections:

References Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)

Thais show Hollywood how to make Westerns

There has always been something rather absurd about the cult of the Hollywood western. The spaghetti Westerns of thirty years ago gave new life to a tired genre - and now we have the first Thai Western, a big improvement on Hollywood's efforts.

Wisit Sananatieng's film is wonderful entertainment. It takes the Western conventions and pushes them to the edge of parody. The gunfights are exciting, the film's central poor-boy/rich-girl love story is genuinely moving, and the harmonica-playing hero comes straight from the classic Gene Autry tradition.

To cap it all, the film is shot in the most marvellous saturated colours, so that it is at times breath-takingly beautiful. And some features unknown in Westerns - such as the lake with lotus blossoms, the pagoda and the rainy season - add to the film's visual beauty. In short, a film not to be missed.