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've been wanting to see BANG RAJAN for a good three years - and in this age of dvds and internets it's not often I have to wait that long to see something, but life seemed unwilling to give this film a readily available release with English subtitles. Finally, though, after sitting on the title for 2 years and almost missing out on first-to-market to Oliver Stone in the US, HKL spin-off Premier Asia got round to releasing it - in a 2-disc special edition with numerous interviews for extras, no less.

BANG RAJAN was a landmark for the Thai film industry, a blockbuster hit that helped to create the recent surge in film production and production values. It tells the true story of a village called Bang Rajan, whose people stood their ground and managed to fight off the northern flank of an invading army from Burma in 1765. Without their bravery, Thailand might just be a province of Burma right now. Bang Rajan wasn't exactly a small village as it turns out, but they were far from a trained army, and were still vastly outnumbered by the invaders. How they managed to hold them off for so long is still a bit of a mystery.

As far as I'm aware, there had never been a film made on as large a scale as this in Thailand before - though Tan Mui would have been well into pre-production on Suriyothai when BR was made. Director Tanit Jitnukul seems to be specialising in historical epics a bit, and has made several more since - including the very enjoyable KHUNSUK, which reunites many of the cast members from BANG RAJAN, but weaves a more personal story into the tapestry of the wars and times. BANG RAJAN wants to tell the story of the village, rather than any single individual - though about half a dozen characters are picked out to receive the main focus of the story, or to represent the village as a whole I guess. The director's story-telling skills aren't quite up to the task of weaving together these threads into a coherent picture, but you do get to care somewhat for the characters eventually. The main aim of the film is to show the heroism and predicament of a whole village of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances, forced to fight to protect their families and their country. In most war films the fighters are soldiers, and their battles are pretty much divorced from their everyday lives (photos of girlfriends back home etc aside), the villagers of BANG RAJAN are caught up in a war that they just happen to be stood in the way of.

What makes BANG RAJAN into a war film, though, are the battle scenes - of which there are many, of a surprising scale and brutality. There's a lot of serious injury, and the sound of flesh being sliced, pierced or lopped off is sometimes relentless. The level and realism of the gore in the film is very high - possibly even higher than Korea's MUSA, almost as if the opening scene of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN had been filmed with machetes, axes, hammers, spears and arrows. And still with guns and cannons too, for that matter. The Premier Asia set includes a very nice interview with the producer of the film, where he explains that he knows they can't achieve the degree of "perfection" in battle scenes that Hollywood films can because of their higher budget, but he hopes that the film does at least stand up to international scrutiny in terms of realism. Apart from a few dodgy CGI explosions, I'd say it certainly does.

I wish that BANG RAJAN had got a wide release right after it was made, as it would probably have been pretty successful. 5 years later, it's thunder has been somewhat stolen by other films like MUSA, SURIYOTHAI, HERO, WARRIORS OF HEAVEN & EARTH and THE LAST SAMURAI. Compared to these, BR must be judged inferior (well, except for Suriyothai, which was more expensive looking but a less captivating film). The story-telling isn't too tight and most of the acting is unimpressive. It is film-making on a grand scale though, with impressively high production values for its budget (far lower than any of the other films mentioned) and a visceral impact that still stands up. Compared to MUSA it might look a little amateurish, but you have to remember there was no MUSA to compare it to when it came out. I don't suppose BANG RAJAN had much if any influence on those other historical epics that have followed it, since it was probably not seen far outside Thailand, but at least its impact on the Thai film industry must be taken as a credit.

Viewed in 2005 it's unlikely to be a life-changing film for anyone, but it's still definitely worth a watch - and I hope that it will sell well enough for Premier Asia to take a few more risks on releasing lesser-known films that don't already have good subtitled releases elsewhere.

Thailand is not the place people would expect to see high quality movies made. Though over the last couple of years some very interesting films have surfaced. This is yet another.

This is a biographical tale of a village called Bang Rajan. During the Burmese invasion of Siam (Thailand) in the late 1700's this village played a pivotal part in the war against the invaders.

The movie starts out quite below par with a rather cheesy battle scene. Though stick with it, as the film becomes very engrossing shortly after. You get to meet the characters of the film and witness their struggle against the cruel Burmese. The film is about honor and bravery against even the worst of odds.

There may be qualms about the acting as most of the cast seem to be amateurs, though this does not detract from the film rather than actually heighten the reality. Some of the special effects are cheap, though the action is great to watch.

I give this 8 out of 10 and highly recommend it to lovers of pre-1900's war movies and Asian Cinema buffs!

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