Another day in paradise...no, in Bangkok (again). Another movie based on the less appealing side of Thailand...let's see: a cute Thai girl following a black guy (something smacks of a stereotype which porn films have successfully exploited), a sleazy Aussie involved with the underworld = honestly, I think this was one of Kevin Bacon's worst acting roles ever - i.e., girls, bar scenes, supplier of guns ... this guy has an arsenal!, then more big guns as the hit-man decides he needs to kill more people, and then even bigger guns when the hit-man decides he needs to kill even bigger numbers!
And Kevin Bacon with an Aussie accent? C'mon now, why an Aussie? Because Aussie's regard Thailand as one of their fav spots for drinking and whoring? What's this, a cliché?
In all this, the little Thai girl's role isn't clear until the end when we find out she is somehow linked to a white elephant that the head honcho keeps as a pet of sorts. I'm not sure what "new meaning" this entailed for the hit-man, but there you have it if you want to find out. I didn't understand it. Then, near the end, we have the dude saying goodbye with a new dress as a gift and a stash of foreign money - huh? it is unbelievable what a cheap image of Thailand such movies give, not just abroad, but within as well. It is no secret people there, girls especially, look upon foreigners as walking banks.
What was an intelligent director like Mr. Prachya Pinkaew trying to do here, other than give the World another vision of violence and sleaze which is prevalent in some circles in his otherwise beautiful country? Of course, it's all money, is it not? That is why he brought in Kevin Bacon and Djimon Hounsou, whom I watched in disbelief after remembering them in great movies like "A Few Good Men" and "Amistad". Big names, maybe, to adorn something akin to what you see in Thai TV every day? Guns, killing, brutalizing young girls...well, about 20 minutes into the film I said to myself: "Who made this? another Thai mentality, I'm sure", and when the end credits rolled by - there it was, true to type!
But maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself, because even though I am not Thai, I have been in Thailand some 6 or 7 times now, and every time I am impressed by the people, usually sweet, loving, and kind. In this the girl Mae (should be spelled 'Mei', the Thai form), -Jirantanin Pitakporntrakul- acted her part perfectly as the embodiment of what a nice girl behaves like in general. Her acting and expressions were spot on with what I have also seen many times there. I believe she single-handedly saved the movie in some way. Back dropping to another film of similar nature (Bangkok Dangerous, yeah, another based-in-Bangkok hit man movie - man, they churn these out by numbers there, don't they?), it was the girl, the deaf-mute who played Nick Cage's love interest, who gave some sense to that flick.
Back to 'Elephant White', I couldn't understand why Mae chose Curtie Church (Djimon Hounsou) as her 'avenging angel', since she repeatedly warned him about killing so many people. The Buddhist belief pleads forgiveness, understanding and acceptance. What I somehow understood was that as he was the one hired by the Head Honcho's son (disguised), to avenge 'his daughter's death' (how come a seasoned hit man didn't see through trick?), she became involved, although you will learn things go somewhat deeper, if you can get through the jumpy scenes, poorly filmed actions, disconnected story lines, incoherent sub-plots.
If you want to see naked Thai girls being forced into prostitution, drugs being injected between their toes, bullied, killing after killing, an Aussie and a hit-man in a silly rent-my-guns-today-but-break-my-nose-tomorrow, then this is the movie for you. Oh, and don't forget the everlasting dogma posted at the end, "2 million girls are forced into prostitution and slavery", a figure that has been disputed by serious authorities both in Thailand and abroad. Again, another negative check - no wonder every time I am asked 'where did you go', and I say Bangkok or Thailand, I spot the sneaky, suspicious expressions on people's faces. It's an image that unfortunately has become de facto thanks to movies and other media like this.
Aren't there more interesting and beautiful dramas and stories to be told from or in Thailand? Many places have some wonderful legends. How about a nice drama?
Why not tell some of these?
And Kevin Bacon with an Aussie accent? C'mon now, why an Aussie? Because Aussie's regard Thailand as one of their fav spots for drinking and whoring? What's this, a cliché?
In all this, the little Thai girl's role isn't clear until the end when we find out she is somehow linked to a white elephant that the head honcho keeps as a pet of sorts. I'm not sure what "new meaning" this entailed for the hit-man, but there you have it if you want to find out. I didn't understand it. Then, near the end, we have the dude saying goodbye with a new dress as a gift and a stash of foreign money - huh? it is unbelievable what a cheap image of Thailand such movies give, not just abroad, but within as well. It is no secret people there, girls especially, look upon foreigners as walking banks.
What was an intelligent director like Mr. Prachya Pinkaew trying to do here, other than give the World another vision of violence and sleaze which is prevalent in some circles in his otherwise beautiful country? Of course, it's all money, is it not? That is why he brought in Kevin Bacon and Djimon Hounsou, whom I watched in disbelief after remembering them in great movies like "A Few Good Men" and "Amistad". Big names, maybe, to adorn something akin to what you see in Thai TV every day? Guns, killing, brutalizing young girls...well, about 20 minutes into the film I said to myself: "Who made this? another Thai mentality, I'm sure", and when the end credits rolled by - there it was, true to type!
But maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself, because even though I am not Thai, I have been in Thailand some 6 or 7 times now, and every time I am impressed by the people, usually sweet, loving, and kind. In this the girl Mae (should be spelled 'Mei', the Thai form), -Jirantanin Pitakporntrakul- acted her part perfectly as the embodiment of what a nice girl behaves like in general. Her acting and expressions were spot on with what I have also seen many times there. I believe she single-handedly saved the movie in some way. Back dropping to another film of similar nature (Bangkok Dangerous, yeah, another based-in-Bangkok hit man movie - man, they churn these out by numbers there, don't they?), it was the girl, the deaf-mute who played Nick Cage's love interest, who gave some sense to that flick.
Back to 'Elephant White', I couldn't understand why Mae chose Curtie Church (Djimon Hounsou) as her 'avenging angel', since she repeatedly warned him about killing so many people. The Buddhist belief pleads forgiveness, understanding and acceptance. What I somehow understood was that as he was the one hired by the Head Honcho's son (disguised), to avenge 'his daughter's death' (how come a seasoned hit man didn't see through trick?), she became involved, although you will learn things go somewhat deeper, if you can get through the jumpy scenes, poorly filmed actions, disconnected story lines, incoherent sub-plots.
If you want to see naked Thai girls being forced into prostitution, drugs being injected between their toes, bullied, killing after killing, an Aussie and a hit-man in a silly rent-my-guns-today-but-break-my-nose-tomorrow, then this is the movie for you. Oh, and don't forget the everlasting dogma posted at the end, "2 million girls are forced into prostitution and slavery", a figure that has been disputed by serious authorities both in Thailand and abroad. Again, another negative check - no wonder every time I am asked 'where did you go', and I say Bangkok or Thailand, I spot the sneaky, suspicious expressions on people's faces. It's an image that unfortunately has become de facto thanks to movies and other media like this.
Aren't there more interesting and beautiful dramas and stories to be told from or in Thailand? Many places have some wonderful legends. How about a nice drama?
Why not tell some of these?