The Legend of Suriyothai (2001)

Fresh and Exciting

Absolutely brilliant

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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.

If you don't mind stepping out of the Hollywood made-for-the-average-audience recipe, and if you are curious about things and places, whose ruins you've see in exotic travel programs then by all means see this.Glimpse the culture and mind-set of 16th century South East Asia, through the looking glass crafted director Tan Mui, extraordinary costume and set design and beautiful cinematography.A complex plot and subtitles make this a little difficult to follow, and it is a little long, but if you like a change of pace, then see what it was like a long time ago, in this palace, far, far away.

Personally, I enjoyed this movie a lot. The cinematography was excellent. The story was very intriguing/ well written. I found to give good background, not too much, just the right amount. This movie is somewhat of East Asian Braveheart. I say somewhat because I think this movie is better. It sticks with giving you what you need to understand this woman Suriyothai without delving into silly romances/drama which is what Braveheart did. More to the point.

This is a beautiful epic film set in historical Thailand during a turbulent period about 1526AD into the 1530's. There is an interesting story behind the making of this film. Apparently, Chatrichalerm Yukol, the writer and director is a member of the sprawling Thai royal family (as is SF/Horror writer S.P. Somtow). The Thais have never been happy with films about Thailand, so much so that neither the Yul Brenner film "The King and I," or the more recent "Anna and the King" have ever been legally exhibited there. Yukol had made several well-respected "art" films. He was attending a family function when the Queen of Thailand asked him why he couldn't make a good film about Thai history. Taking this as a royal command, he spent three years researching and writing this story about a famous past queen. Evidently, going from directing small, intimate, modern films to a full-blown historical epic with thousands of extras, cannon, and elephants was quite a transition. However, the result is lovely.The story commences as Suriyothai, a young princess, is betrothed to Prince Thienraja, who is virtuous but rather dull. She prefers her childhood friend, Lord Srithep, but agrees to "sacrifice" her own desires for the good of the Kingdom, which is the first of a series of difficult decisions she is called upon to make. We see Thailand as a country with a beautiful and sophisticated culture, every bit the equal of the Japan of the era, but under stress from rebellious provinces and foreign invaders. A series of royal deaths from disease, disaster, and assassination brings about a dynastic struggle in which Suriyothai organizes a rebellion against a usurper that brings her husband to the throne. (As King Mahachakrepat--the way in which people take new names as they gain rank can be confusing.) She then has to don armor and mount an elephant to aid her husband in defending the country from the Burmese invaders seeking to exploit the general disorder.The film was cut from a four-hour Thai original to 185 minutes for Western release, and is consequently somewhat choppy, but still easy to follow if you are attentive. I was fascinated by this bit of history in a region of the world where I had known nothing. English subtitles were easy to follow, because, unlike some French or Japanese films, we've seen lately, it takes longer to say the same things in Thai than English, so the titles stay on the screen long enough to follow. Cinematography and settings were beautiful, and gave opportunity for some unique battle scenes, including one between river galleys, and the climactic fight which involves jousting from elephant back.I've seen criticisms from other viewers that essentially echoed critiques of films like "Gods and Generals,"--that it lacked plot. Get with it people--history doesn't need a plot, history IS the plot.