Bangrajan

Regarded by many as the Thai epic that was successful enough to launch a new wave of internationally-popular movies from Thailand, BANG RAJAN is similar to Hollywood's BRAVEHEART, and just as interesting. That's impressive alone, seeing as the budget is about a thousand times lower than the Mel Gibson epic, but when you consider that the bloody battle sequences are just as good as in that and the likes of THE LAST SAMURAI, you'll realise that BANG RAJAN is a very good film indeed. The movie tells a SEVEN SAMURAI-style tale about villagers holding out against an army, and that cues two hours of bloody mayhem, heartfelt speeches, strong character building and tons of suspense. The budget is low and the camera-work sometimes choppy, but that's where the negatives end; in all other respects this is an epic movie with a high entertainment value.

I always feel that 'true story' movies – like this one – have an extra 'oomph' to their fictional counterparts, and knowing this really happened makes BANG RAJAN a really interesting film to watch. Some Western viewers have found problems with the villagers themselves, seeing as they all have the same haircuts, are all mostly naked, and all look pretty much the same. That's not too much trouble though, as the main characters are easily distinguishable, from the drunken axe-wielding guy (who reminded me of Ajax from TROY) to the moustachioed hero and the younger family man and his pregnant wife. Acting from the unknown cast is surprisingly strong, and combined with a workable script, you end up with characters you really care for – and shed a tear or two about – in the battle sequences.

The latter are varied and exciting, and easily the best parts of the movie. This film is chock-full of action and it never lets up, delivering more and more bloodshed until the exciting, climatic showdown. Thai filmmakers don't skimp on the gore either, so there are tons of bloody arrow hits, decapitations, flying limbs and people being blown to smithereens; sure, they're all shown very quickly, almost glimpses, but somehow that makes the battles seem more realistic and more hard-hitting. Sometimes the film transcends predictability and becomes inspired, like the bit where the heroes ride massively horned buffalos into battle, or when the villagers decide to make their own cannons from scrap metal. Other images, like the husband and wife on the battlefield, or the warriors emerging from the river, really stick in the mind for days to come. All in all, this is a highly rewatchable war film that offers pretty much everything for fans of the genre; even the cheapo special effects (like the digital explosions) are good enough to convince.

I lent this on VCD from a friend of mine and I was impressed. I watched a non-subtitled thai version and I don't understand a word thai.

this movie re-accounts the struggle of a small village against one of 2 burmese invasion armies and holds out for about 5 months -against all odds.

I was pleasantly surprized to find a thrilling action movie without too much sentiments, but just enough to not all hack & slash and not to much to become hollywoodish overly dramatic to the very annoying level of fase-turn-off-the-dvd-player (like Peal Harbour). The comparison with braveheart is easlily made -since this movie has one of the last mass-armies scenes that is not computer enhanced (like 10 soldiers digitally multiplied by 1000)Which is a very impressive scene

There are a few flaws. I thought the fight scenes a filmed a bit messy. It does creatw a feeling of the chaos that is melee, but unfortunately, if one can't tell one villager from another -the all look a-like, which makes the action scene little difficult to follow(compare Black Hawk Down where all were mostly caucasian and had short trimmed hair, underneath the identical helmet all wore in combination with the same desertpaterned uniforms). Concerning the main characters, this problem is solved by giving one a babyface, another a mowhawk hairsyle and british-like moustache and another a beard etc. The more you watch the the less this problem becomes The other flaw are the special effects, these are really bad. BUT I must say that didn't annoy me.

The story is easy to follow, even the flashbacks are easily spotted. The acting is good (for me I watched bodylanguage, facial expressions and intonation of voice, what else can you do when you don't understand the language) The actionscenes are very impreessive especially those with lots and lots of people fighting. The music is great as well, maybe no John Williams, but more than adequate enough to accompany any feeling a scene should return, whether it's a gentle look between 2lovers or an all out end battle

Great movie -I'm still impressed!

This movie was just released on video in Denmark, and I persuaded a friend to watch it with me. He thanked me afterwards! This is a great movie, and the battles are just INCREDIBLE. You can only compare it to Braveheart, but this movie avoids being as over-the-top romantic.

The only problem is that the people are a little hard to tell from each other (wow, do I sound like a racist!). We have a hero with a big moustache. A drunk with a beard. A guy who is younger than everybody else. And thats about it. The rest of the men look like each other with the same haircuts and facial hair. And the names being so different from western names makes it harder to follow. Luckily, it doesn't really matter who of the men did what. This is a film to watch for its fighting scenes.

If you liked the fighting in Braveheart, you just have to see this. I believe the budget was smaller for this one, but the battle scenes are very convincing. You have to see it for yourself. Actually I think this movie is better than Braveheart, even though I liked that a lot!

I had the privilege of watching this on its release in Pattaya Thailand, What can i say? William Wallace, pack your bags and go home! This film makes Brave Heart look like Noddy in Toy Town. The choreography of the fight scenes was Fantastic-probably the best I've seen! And funnily enough i didn't understand a Bloody word! The buffalo in the fights is allegedly a genetic throw back to prehistoric times and died shortly after filming, its horns are supposedly over 12feet long! It is now in the Thai National Museum. Thats the History lesson over! Anyhow shortly after i was so bedazzled by this Film i received a VCD copy from a friend in Thailand, Since then I've been amazed by the fact it wasn't released in the UK with subtitles, lets face it we've got Bloody Bollywood and its Crap, we've got some super Gangsta Brit Flicks, the Japs some Fantastic Action-Gangsta movies & the Germans some pretty cool Hardcore! So having seen a number of Thai films inc 1 serious funny comedy about the army--Why Why Why don't we have a movement for Thai movies! After all Hollywood seems to be churning out the same old drivel time after time and with the exception of a few directors, & would do well to watch some of these movies- Super films low budgets and good story lines! As opposed to the same old formulae time and again with Budgets that could wipe out 3rd world debts!(Mr Spielburg)

So if anybody knows where i can get an English subtitled version you'd make this 'Tingtong' a very happy man!

Keep smiling guys

G

Bang Rajan is a gripping account of Thai villagers who fight against an imposing army that has them outnumbered and outgunned. Action scenes are great and the story itself has you following it to the very end. If you are a fan of foreign films or war movies, then this is a must see. The characters are great and so are the actors that play them. Even though most of the dialogue is in subtitles, it takes absolutely nothing away from this visual movie. The women used in this movie are beautiful and the men and children look very much like the Thai villagers of the period portrayed. The setting of this movie is pleasant and the fight scenes are realistic. Don't miss this one!