I had the pleasure of watching Tom Yum Goong with SM yesterday, and I must say that it's the best of the last 3 movies that I've watched. kai proclaims it his favourite movie of the year. The movie is full of social commentary, and artistic brilliance permeates each scene.

Near the start of the show, one villain Johnny summons a group of young hoodlums by pulling a string which sounds a ship's whistle (actually the thing which makes a lower, deeper, more sonorous sound, but I don't know what it's called) foghorn [Ed: I love the combined base of knowledge of my readers! They can answer any question!]. They then come in on bicycles, rollerblades and foot, and try to beat the protagonist up. The director is casting his withering gaze on the decadent youth of today, as viewed through the eyes of his protagonist. Having too much time, they have fallen into bad company and instead of studying work for the villain Johnny, beating up helpless Thai immigrants who cannot speak a word of English on his say-so.

One of the main villains in the show is a post-op transsexual (I knew she was one from the first time I saw her). In one of the movie's pivotal scenes, she battles discrimination, prejudice and loathing from the rest of the family (one calls her "bu4 nan2 bu4 nu3" [neither male nor female] to emerge triumphant and head her family business. She does this by poisoning her 2 male rivals. She also fights with a whip in one of the movie's last scenes, thus showing that post-op transsexuals are every bit as capable and ruthless as before their operation. She also has the show's only makeout scene (assuming that the movie wasn't cut despite its NC16 rating), showing that even villains (ie the Caucasian who made out with her) are capable of overcoming prejudice and social conditioning to appreciate post-op transsexuals for who they really are, rather than holding their physical condition against them, so there is no excuse for normal people untainted by evil, to continue in their prejudice.

Another moral of the movie is that all humans are capable of evil. We see people of different races and nationalities - Thai, Australian, Caucasian, Chinese and Black, united in fighting for the antagonists. Evil is in the human heart and thus there is no reason for us to be racist, since we are all capable of evil deeds.

In a seminal commentary on globalisation, there is a TV channel in Australia where the presenter has atrocious pronunciation, and the person who wrote her script is equally dismal in his standard of English. Obviously the director despaired at declining linguistic standards, and decided to share his horror with his audience.

Tom Yum Goong also makes a powerful statement about Neo-Imperialism. In the restaurant scene, we see that all the diners who are eating dishes made from endangered species are white. Meanwhile the lackeys who impede our protagonist and the kitchen staff are all Asian. Obviously the director is decrying how globalisation is resulting in the rape of Thailand and other IndoChinese countries for the benefit (culinary or otherwise) of Imperialist Westerners.


The artistry of the movie also far surpasses anything in Wong Kar Wai.

The blows of the protagonist speak of his grace and efficiency - he does not engage in flourish and showy moves, preferring deft blows that get the job done without wasting his stamina or energy.

The clarion clear sound effect as each lackey's bone is broken is pure and powerful, and as the protagonist cumulatively breaks bones, the rhythm of the cracking bones builds into a symphony of sound.

The looks of rage on the actors' faces when they fight and the sheer agony reflected on them after they've had their tendons severed also speaks volumes. Through their eyes, one is initiated into a whole world of meaning.

In one scene, the floor is filled with black-suited lackeys writhing in pain after being crippled by the protagonist. The way their bodies are arranged, the degree of the curl and the rhythm of the writing is sheer genius.


Lastly, I have to mention the reverse psychology trick about DVD piracy. In one scene, as the protagonist crosses a street (or something), a woman says in the background: "Don't buy pirated dvds... it's disgusting!". By providing an example of the vacuous and poorly-supported arguments that content providers (which have copyright for what is in effect eternity) offer to justify draconian measures to crack down on the faux threat of piracy, Tom Yum Goong exposes the lies of the industry and makes us cognizant of their fallacious arguments.

"Chang ku yu nai!!!"