What? Not a blog about a knock off film during the Year of the Knock Off? Yeah, I did have all the intentions in the world to write about the sorta kind of but not really knock off of Terminator, 1992's Nemesis, but I realized while watching it that I was not at all paying attention to the plot it was trying to push its way through. It isn't the worst film I have ever seen and the surprising quality of the action in it is worthy of note (considering it was done on a budget of 2 million dollars), but I just wasn't feeling it. Hands of Steel may have ruined me for a bit as it hit a lot of the sweet spots that I have liked during my and Steve's journey through these odd corners of cinematic also rans. So, I will not be burdening you with my poorly worded thoughts about that film (and overuse of gifs for varying degrees of comedic effect). If you are at all interested in hearing a good conversation about Nemesis and another film done by the same director, Albert Pyun, please check out Episode 360 of Talk Without Rhythm. After relistening to the episode after having seen the film, I agree with El Goro's sentiment that you have to be ready to force some meaning and themes from the film as it doesn't do the best job of bringing them clearly to you. It does have a sweet chase scene involving sliding down a very long mud covered looking water slide, though, so there's that.
Not to worry though, I will be back to the knock offs again real soon.
Alright, now onto something I should have taken care of by now.
It was around this time last year when I put my ass in gear and started finally watching the list of 30 westerns that I had requested from my friend and co-host of Strange Highways, Kevin. The bulk of the list took place between the early 50's through the mid to late 70's, but there was one outlier. Tears of the Black Tiger came out in 2000, and even though I was looking forward to watching it, it did not feel like it belonged with the others as it was 20 plus years newer than the rest of the list. I omitted it and switched in some more Charles Bronson with Breakheart Pass.
I always had plans to come back and watch Tears of the Black Tiger. Like most of my best intentions, it eventually happened. Eventually. I am glad I did. Let's get back in the saddle for one more ride.
Film #31 Tears of the Black Tiger (2000)
Here is the imdb.com cast listing. Here is the wikipedia page about the production.
At its heart, Tears of the Black Tiger is a tragic love story between Dum (Chartchai Ngamsan) aka Black Tiger and Rumpoey (Stella Malucchi). The film follows two tracks; the current situation in which Rumpoey, a daughter of a wealthy government official who is being forced to marry a young up and coming police captain against her will and who is hoping against hope that Dum will show up and they can elope together, and the story of how Dum and Rumpoey kept crossing paths as they grew up on very different ends of the social ladder and how they fell in love.
Dum, unknown to Rumpoey, is a member of a gang run by the infamous Fai (Sombat Metanne) and is Fai's right hand man and best gun. Her forced upon fiance, Captain Kumjorn (Arawat Ruangvuth) wants to make a name for himself and prove his worth by taking out Fai. This sets up a collision course between Dum and Kumjorn and series of hard choices that Dum has to make.
Additionally, Dum's best friend and rival, Mahesuan (Supakorn Kitsuwon), believes he is the best gun in Fai's gang and is looking for way ways to bring Dum down.
There is a scene early on where the Black Tiger is sitting on a tree and playing a harmonica (oh which its importance is revealed later) when Mahesuan challenges him to a duel. The image below is from that scene and it shows off the trippy visual palate the film plays with the entire time.
It is so obviously a soundstage with a painted backdrop but yet it adds to the over the top feeling of the moment. What is not seen here (as I could not find a snippet of this scene to put on the blog) is how Mahesuan, the one in the foreground with his back to the viewer, is pulled sideways across the
sceen to mimic a rotating camera shot but with no camera movement at all. Evidently it is a tribute to Thai films of the 40's and 50's but I took it as deconstructing our expectations of what a showdown can be and it was refreshing.
There is not another scene like the one above in the rest of the film. Its not the only time the film does something entirely different visually for one scene and then moves on. It takes an extreme amount of confidence and knowledge in how film works in order to keep pulling off these cinematic magic tricks and keep the story understandable and flowing, and director/writer Wisit Sasantieng does it well.
The use of color in Tears of the Black Tiger is integral to its dreamlike vibe. There are moments that are completely washed out, almost black and white, but only to have Rumpoey pop in her almost bubblegum pink dress. A lot of solid colors are used throughout, giving the film a very 40's and 50's Trucolor feel to it. It wanted to feel like an older film, but not moored in one particular time period. The use of reporters and their cameras with flashbulbs and the handful of cars shown do suggest it is set in the 50's (and the weapons used also hint at this... more on that later) but then when we are off traveling the plains and rock filled edges of the land it feels like it could be set as the same time as Once Upon A Time In The West. While the version of the film I watched appeared to be a little more desaturated than intended, the color palate is still very striking.
Look at the image below from a scene when Rumpoey is forced to come downstairs at the behest of her 'fiance' Kumjorn. Her dress is now the same blue as the lower floor. She is literally lowering herself to the level of Kumjorn as she does not want to have anything to do with him (In fact she refers to him as Captain and as if he isn't even in the room).
There is also a moment towards the end of the film when Black Tiger is dressed in an all white suit in the middle of a pitch black night with the rain falling that not only visually cuts him out of the scenery with a knife's edge but also shows that he doesn't want to be the Black Tiger any longer. It may be all on the nose, but it is done wonderfully so.
What is also visually striking and bright? The violence. Not a single gunshot or knife stab goes unrewarded without savage bright red blood and gore. It is very stark against the nature of the love story being told. I found myself caught off guard a handful of times with how abrupt and graphic some of the violence actually was. Check out this below clip where the leader of the outlaw gang, Fai, uses a bazooka to pin a guy against a wall. It is impressive.
Earlier in the film, Black Tiger sees the reflection of a man he is intending to kill and fires a shot that ricochets multiple times before splitting the man's head like a melon. The film breaks the fourth wall and asks if you saw what happened and then replays the same scene to show you how many times the bullet bounced before killing its target. Wisit Sasantieng does not shy away from the emotional extremes of violence, from the moment of pure badass stated above, or how a single pistol shot can be devastating to more than just the person getting shot. Tears of the Black Tiger is full of contrasting colors and tones and it makes for a more interesting film.
The music also reflects this dichotomy of emotions. There are moments that sound like they belong in a spaghetti western and there at least three different songs that are meant to evoke older Thai pop standards. I will post some of it below but it needed to be noted during my talk of the film as it further puts this film into a dreamlike state.
Tears of the Black Tiger is very much a blend of Thai film history (admittedly, that I did not know about until watching this film and doing some reading), Italian westerns, and some of the extreme violence that was making its way through film in the 80's and 90s. So it is not a straight ahead western, nor does it claim to be. It happens to have the rough edges of a western with a tragic love story at its center. The film plays like a moving abstract painting, challenging you just to experience and feel it. Like love. And loss.
Though it may have taken me too long to get this film, I am glad to have finally watched Tears of the Black Tiger. It was nice to sit down and watch this after having some time away from all the other westerns I had consumed and view it on its own terms. If you are looking for something off the beaten path that will set off your imagination, Tears of the Black Tiger is a ride worth taking.
Western Checklist (nowhere near offical or scientific):
- Weird gang member names? There was on guy named Sergent Yam. He was terrible comic relief. He really yammed it up.
- Beautiful landscapes? Yes. As I am not familiar with the topography of Thailand, it was surprising to see the varying terrains and locations. Very beautiful.
- Any terrified horses? Not that I am aware of. A Black Tiger was stabbed at one point, though.
- How many Ernest Borgnines? None, but man that would have been amazing to see him just show up in this Thai film.
- Does it have a theme song with the name of the film in the title? No, but it does have song during its title credits. It is quite lovely sounding and reflects the other songs that are heard during the film.
Rating:
I am going to give Tears of the Black Tiger 3.5 out of 5 tin stars. The parts are greater than the whole in this case. Individual scenes and moments carry this film a lot further than they have any right to. The middle part drags a little, but the film doesn't over stay its welcome. See this for what it is: a unique vision of a what a western can be that is not at all set in the west.
