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Chocolate – DVD
Martial arts flicks with a strong focus on revenge are nothing new. A parent or child is murdered, something is stolen and disrespect must always be acknowledged with restitution. The villain will always be a ruthless, hateful monster, and surrounded by suitably sleazy villains who protect him from punishment for his conscience-free ways. The stakes have to be high and the more ruthless he is, the more we cheer. All these elements are in place in Thai director Prachya Pinkaew’s hot new flick Chocolate. It sounds clichéd but the direction is so slick, the action so swift and the heroine, a young girl with lightning speed reflexes, so distinct, it all feels brand new.
Zin (Ammara Siripong) is the girlfriend of a vicious mob boss, No. 8 (Pongpat Wachirabunjong), but when she falls in love with Masashi (Hiroshi Abe), a member of the Yakuza, they are both banished. Masashi returns to Japan, and Zin, with her small daughter Zen, remain in Thailand. Zen (the remarkable JeeJa Yanin) is autistic, but a quick study, and as she watches Kung Fu movies (the director’s Ong Bak among them) she absorbs every technique. In her teenage years, her mother falls ill and desperately needs chemotherapy. Enter Moom (Taphon Phopwandee), Zin’s chubby boarder who stumbles across a ledger his landlady has kept of people who owe her money. One by one Moom and Zen visit them to collect all that is owed…
What a sensational, handsome piece this is. I watched it with a fan of the genre and it left him breathless. With each shady character Zen and Moom visit, they’re met by a seemingly endless army of expert fighters but none can match this tyke’s prowess. Comparisons to the Kill Bill series are too easy and too obvious. While the narrative hatched here bears similarities, there’s a freshness that’s becoming increasingly rare for the genre and Pinkaew gives us humour to match the violence. There are moments designed to make us recoil but it’s all quickly defused with a weapon you couldn’t imagine being utilized. It’s a genre flick to be sure but Chocolate, sweet and deadly, is nevertheless sensational.
Michael Dalton
www.chocolate-movie.com
Available through Madman Entertainment – www.madman.com.au
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