Suriyothai

I was pleasantly suprised by this film. It's a compelling tale of a nation's painful evolution, a unique mixture of murder, ambition, betrayal, duty and national pride. It has flaws - clumsy action scenes, wooden acting, confusing plot - but overall the heart and emotion of the film won me over, that and the fact that I have a soft spot for anything Thai. It's basically a Thai version of Joan of Arc, mixed with lethal doses of political scheming and battlefield mayhem. The title character is a princess who gives up the man she loves and agrees to marry into a more politically advantageous situation for her family. Suriyothai is loyal, self-less heroine who's smart enough to give her husband shrewd advise on how to improve his political standing and survive during the volatile times (mid 1500's). We watch as one King suffers a gruesome death to small pox, leaving an infant on his throne who is quickly overthrown by an ambitious prince. The new King loses his wife during childbirth, then takes another woman as his consort. It's this second wife who sets into motion the main drama of the film as she plots to kill her husband and disrupt the royal succession. All the while Thailand is fighting off rebellious provinces and staving off their aggressive neighbor, the King of Burma. The resulting parade of beheadings, poisonings, sneak-attacks and political backstabbing would put Italy's Borgias to shame. The finale features a battle against overwhelming odds with heroic sacrifices that help explain the reverence Thai people have toward their monarchy. If you can handle subtitles and love historical drama (and battles featuring elephants), then "The Legend of Suriyothai" is for you.

history page. beautiful show. preoccupation for nuances. huge project , romantic slices, plots, love, heroic scenes, battles and story of a queen as reflection of sacrifice spirit and love for country. sure, it is more a subject of Thai pride. but, in same measure, an admirable work. at first step but this step is remarkable. for measure, for images, for nuances of tale, for science to create a window to Orient far from basic recipes of exoticism. it is a mega - production who preserves its identity. a testimony of charming potential of South Asian cinema to give a different product by Bollywood . and the fact is not insignificant. portrait of Thai XVI century, it is a beautiful jewelery, really impressive for each its part.

Suriyothai is a stunning film: Spanning 2 DVDs, and full of political intrigue, history, and glorious battle scenes. There are so many main characters, and all of them command a huge amount of weight, and against movie tradition, there isn't really even a traditional Hero character, even Suriyothai herself playing minor roles in much of the drama.

Some have criticized the actress's acting as stiff and wooden, but I thought that Suriyothai was poker-faced intentionally, because she is a Queen after all. Most period pieces from any country have characters like this. I think you have look past her obvious cues and look for the more subtle ones, in order to appreciate her character: passionate about her country and her people, and devoted to her role.

In fact there are many cards that other productions would have played, that this film doesn't, and much to its credit it stays away from many of the obvious manipulative narratives that are the mainstays for this genre of film, especially in the west. The film has a historical and legendary basis, and I am unsure exactly how closely it stays to that, but I found the film had the great level of depth and realism that only the best historical films attain.

Watching hundreds of extras, alongside elephants, charge into battle, clashing swords and dodging cannon fire, is exhilarating. It's hard to see which army has the upper-hand until the final moments. There appears to have been a conscious decision to not fall for the trappings of making each battle into "hero's battle", so the action often stays away from focusing on main characters, and chooses to present to the viewer the sheer chaos of war.

Oh, and it needs to be said: The elephants are awesome.

If you are interested in this film, get at least the the 3 hour long version, as it is the closest to the way the film was intended (reportedly it was originally going to be a mini-series). While this longer edit of the film has a lot more political intrigue and dialogue, it that brings with it much more depth to the characters and situations. If you are not part of the "Attention Deficit Generation" bred by Hollow-wood, you can't go wrong with this REAL version.

I can see why this film was edited down for the USA release. It is very long, and there is a lot of references and content that is probably assumed knowledge for most Thai people. However, while I can see the logic in removing parts of a film because of cultural barriers, isn't one of the reasons for watching foreign film, to find out more about other cultures? Granted, there is much that went over my head while watching this film, but I have to say that I didn't mind, and now I will find out more if I can about Thailand and its history: The Internet is a wonderful invention.

Francis Ford Coppolla has some serious balls to have resold this film BACK to Thailand after he deleted most of it. I doubt he would take a film by Ridley Scott, and slice it to pieces. Faced with that particular situation, I am sure he would be all about "preserving the vision of the artists". It seems to be to be just another example of Hollow-wood being unwilling to let Asian Film compete on its own merits in America, and at least an ingrained xenophobia.

Suriyothai is an amazing film. It is an epic that I have not seen bested by any other, and maybe even the mythical long edit of Tsui Hark's Seven Swords would have an near-impossible mission to dethrone it. The sheer size and quality of this production, together with the unique chance that it gives to see Thai history represented so gloriously and elegantly, are reasons enough to hunt down the Thai DVD.

I watched the shortened Coppola cut of this film on DVD, and on the whole found it to be a cracking good story that kept me engaged, and I particularly enjoyed the high production values, the exotic costumes, sets and props, and the beautiful cinematography. The elements of nations at war, political power struggles, palace intrigues, and murderous treachery in the royal family of Thailand seemed to me very reminiscent of "I Claudius," a great favorite of mine, and I found some of the comments below referring to the film as having no plot totally inexplicable. I tended to wonder whether the deadpan acting style frequently commented-on here might be a cultural artifact, as modes of expression can vary to some extent in different countries, but judging from the remarks of some Thai commentators this wouldn't seem to be the case. The bottom line for me, though, was that I thoroughly enjoyed all two and a half hours of this film.

I do take issue with some commentators who declare without hesitation that a particular film is a complete waste of time, that you should "save your time," or "save your money," etc., and not even consider seeing it. Why on earth would these people presume to urge me (or anybody else) to reject this film sight unseen? One thing I've learned in the course of seeing hundreds of films is the absolute folly of trying to predict who will like which film. Those I've recommended to friends more often than not lay an egg with them, while they rhapsodize over stuff I couldn't care less about. I'm always interested to hear a variety of opinions on films, which is why I love the IMDb, but an opinion loses much of its credence for me when the commentator comes off as an opinionated blowhard.

Anyway, for what my own opinion is worth, I see "The Legend of Suriyothai" as a damn good story, told effectively with exotic and stunningly beautiful visual elements. I don't in the least regret spending a few dollars and two and a half hours experiencing it.

This is a very appealing film for dreamy people easily stirred by beautifully exotic costumes, some compellingly exotic actresses and a few scenes of relentless brutality. The story is complex (and at times downright bewildering) but fascinating, taking place in many places and involving many characters. We get a heavy dose of intrigue, assassination plots, adultery, regicide and betrayal spanning a dozen or so years in the heart of medieval siam (now thailand). By virtue of just that, the movie is worthwhile. But the sometimes dreary, monotone delivery of lines makes the film feel like it was dragging. Though I don't understand a word of thai, the dialogue seemed annoyingly but frequently devoid of sentiment. With sizable patience and curiosity though, this movie can be a rewarding experience.