In the countryside of Thailand, a gang of outlaws makes the region unsafe. Among them is the handsome gun hero Dum, who became unwillingly involved in the bandit life. Handsome Dum made a promise to his upper-crust lover Rumpoey: despite the class difference, they will get married. When the moment of reunion arrives, Dum gets involved in a fire fight and cannot possibly reach Rumpoey in time. She is desperate: her father has married her off to a policeman. The taciturn Dum, called the 'Black Tiger' by his co-conspirators, has however not forgotten Rumpoey. He does everything in his power to reach her, but fate gets in the way: his gang leader suspects him of treachery and his blood brother turns into his greatest enemy. Will the two lovers ever meet up? This urgent question propels the melodrama forward, supported by exciting music, spectacular shootouts and heroic duels.
Genre(s): Action, Comedy, Romance
Runtime: 110 minutes
Rating: 6.9/10 (1,566 votes)
Release Date: 5 October 2000
Country: Thailand
Languages: Thai
Company: Aichi Arts Center
Sound: Stereo
Director(s): Wisit Sasanatieng
Producer(s):
Pracha Maleenont – executive producer
Brian L. Marcar – executive producer
Bunbhot Ngamkhum – line producer
Nonzee Nimibutr – producer
Adirek Wattaleela – executive producer
Writer(s):
Wisit Sasanatieng – writer
Cast:
Chartchai Ngamsan – Black Tiger
Suwinit Panjamawat – Dum (Black Tiger Youth)
Stella Malucchi – Rumpoey
Supakorn Kitsuwon – Mahesuan
Arawat Ruangvuth – Police Captain Kumjorn
Sombat Metanee – Fai
Pairoj Jaisingha – Phya Prasit
Naiyana Sheewanun – Rumpoey's maid
Kanchit Kwanpracha – Kamnan Dua
Chamloen Sridang – Sergeant Yam
Music: Amornbhong Methakunavudh
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After his father was killed a young man named Dum joins a group ofbandits who dress up cowboys and roam the countryside of Thailand.After joining them he soon has made a name for himself as the fastedgun in the east and which he is known as the Black Tiger. But in theback of his mind is a childhood sweetheart that grew up in the upperclass of society and despite Dum coming from a poor family they decidedto meet at a particular place to reunite. Though, Dum gets caught up ingunfight and misses the chance to be with his loved one. So because ofthat she is married off to a policeman, but this doesn't stop Dum fromtrying to get in contact with her, even if something always gets inbetween them.
Wow! Did someone splash some sort of painting on the screen? What afeast for the eyes, but the substance was clearly drowned out by thevibrant plateau of ultra-bright colours and by also the deviously campystyle the director opted out for. These visuals just leap off thescreen and were more than impressive. Sadly because of the style beingthe film's main strong hold, the story had to fall by the wayside,really. It's simple, but not always as compelling to that of what'shappening in the background. It's one of those films when style iseverything. Even the spoof element foreshadows the plot. Closerattention in building something stronger in the plot could have madethis a more perfect viewing.
This Thai film is filled with many, that's MANY homage's from thewestern genre, especially that off Leone's spaghetti westerns. All ofthis is blended in with formulaic clichés and a romantic twist aboutfate. This tragic love story isn't particularly new, but the way theyinterwoven the eastern culture with the western. There are enoughunpredictable patterns drawn up. The storyline isn't a linear one,because we explore into our protagonist's past midway through theflick, looking at why he became an outlaw and how important this girlhas been in his life. While the opening and ending scenes are set inthe present time. Actually, I was kind of confused about the wholesetting, but I found out it's set in the modern times, but the outlawsare just dressed up as cowboys. Basically the film goes out of its wayto blind us with it's weirdness and zestful context, but amongst all ofthis it mixes elements of Thai traditions to that of Hollywoodsuccessfully to give us a laugh and create some excitement along theway.
The production follows that of the early spaghetti westerns filmingtechniques. These things range from sharp editing, to the kinetic andcirculating camera-work. The quick pans always seem to have a mind ofits own. The pulsating score splashes out a variety of eastern, butalso western themes. Even one of Ennio Morricone's themes from "TheGood, the bad and the Ugly" is continuously given a spin. *Hmm* thescore actually seems to be on a loop. The way the film looks it doescome across like a stage show and the pacing is somewhat up and down.Although when it gets into Western extravaganza with the wild shootoutsand loud explosions it's simply eye catching with the amount flair andwham-bang awe that's generated. These moment are filled with artyimages, but they let the red paint spill out gratuitously. They do goover-the-top at times, like its been ripped out of a comic book. Thatcan go to the final stand off, which has some panache about it and endsrather nasty. All I got to say is Ouch! That's gotta hurt! I keptasking myself if I was watching a cartoon and that's definitely becauseof the look, but also the performances. These characters were beyondcheesy, and all had massive egos, well except for the two leads thatwere kinda flat. Those outlaws with their colourful outfits andsinister laughter were just ridiculously hilarious! I just love how itfound something to take the mickey out of. Everything about the film iswell equipped with it being snazzy and polished up. Replacing the gritand rawness found in most spaghetti westerns, by keeping in the mode ofthe technicolour Hollywood westerns. Oh, well.
It's no more but a terribly cheesy parody (and a decent one too) withsteroid pumping visuals. But a definite warning as this film is not foreveryone. If you enjoyed the offbeat "The Happiness of the Katakuris"(2001) you might find something to like here.
Tears of the Black Tiger is certainly a unique cinematic experience;part western, part comedy and part tragic melodrama, this Thai movie isperfect for those looking for an alternative to predictable Hollywoodpap.
Dum is the handsome hero of the film, a member of the notorious BlackTiger bandits and a crack shot with a six shooter. Rumpoey is the loveof his life, who has agreed to marry Dum; despite their classdifferences, she has arranged to elope with him. When Dum misses hisrendezvous with Rumpoey (due to being caught in a gun battle), she isheartbroken and, under pressure from her father, accepts a proposal ofmarriage from Police Captain Kumjorn.
In a battle between the police and the bandits, Captain Kumjorn istaken prisoner; Dum is given the job of killing the policeman. As alast request, Kumjorn asks that Dum informs his fiancée of his fate andproduces a photograph of his wife-to-be. On recognising Rumpoey'spicture, Dum frees Kumjorn, but in doing so, he puts his own life onthe line…
Stylish, funny and occasionally completely off-the-wall, Tears of theBlack Tiger is an affectionate homage to Thai movies of yesteryear andHollywood westerns. It is a strange mix, but it works. Only anoccasional lull in pace stops this from being a wholly successful film,but don't let that put you off from watching it—the positives faroutweigh the negatives.
Heavily stylised scenes and surreal imagery combine with over-saturatedhues to produce a most aesthetically pleasing film; the look isreminiscent of musicals from the 50s whilst the occasional moments ofgraphic ultra-violence could be straight out of a Tarantino movie. Eachcharacter is perfectly cast and the comic-book approach taken by theactors in the realisation of their roles complements the overall styleof the film.
Tears of the Black Tiger is a fun film that is destined to become acult favourite amongst fans of bizarre cinema (and may even improve onrepeat viewings, as with most cult movies).
I've borrowed this DVD from the library twice before, but never had thechance to watch it, until now. The appeal is actually to see some ofThai director Wisit Sasanatieng's past works, before his up and comingmade-in-Singapore flick called Armful. And I've heard some good thingsabout this movie too.
The story combines two different genres into one, the first being acowboy western, (set in Thailand no less!) and the usual star-crossedlover romance. Perhaps the novelty of the first genre type is havingThai folks dress up as cowboys, riding on their steed and somehow,becoming the villains as they plunder and kill. Yup, they're not thegood guys, against the usual stereotype. Here, the cowboys are bandits,and the good folks are naturally, the cops.
But amongst all the bad hats (pardon the pun), there's always the herowho's forced by circumstances to join the group. Dum (ChartchaiNgamsan), also known as the notorious Black Tiger, renowned fastest anddeadliest draw in all of Thailand, has a childhood sweetheart inRumpoey (Sttella Malucchi). However, their difference in status (he'sthe son of a servant, while she, the daughter of the governor) meantthat it's a forbidden romance to begin with. Knowing his place in herworld, he could only admire from afar, becoming her protector,shielding her from harm (like numerous approaches by lechers andbandits).
A man gotta do what a man gotta do, and during one of his missions, hefailed to meet up with Rumpoey presumably to elope, while she took itas a sign that he didn't want to. Like Romeo and Juliet, she'sbetrothed to Kumjorn (Arawat Ruangyuth), a police captain captured byDum's notorious gangster boss Fai (Sombat Metanee). And like all starcrossed lovers whose lives are played by Fate, these events start tospin and take on a life of its own, changing the course of ourcharacters lives forever.
It's a beautifully shot movie, with plenty of pastel colours drapingthe sets, which at times make you cringe and beg for it to stop. As ifto complement its saccharine sweet and sentimental love story, itelevates the movie to a surreal dream like level. The action sequencescan be quite cheesy, with the reminiscence of old spaghetti cowboywestern gun fights. But the best bits about the film, are the songs. Idon't understand Thai, but even if without the subtitles interpretingthe lyrics, I thought that they were beautiful enough to accentuatescenes in the movie.
Perhaps my only gripe about the movie in this version of the DVD, isthat the bloody violence had been censored, depriving me the bloodyglee of watching the Black Tiger dispatch his opponents with hisaccuracy. There were scenes where footsoldiers bled by the bucketloadsof ketchup, but the crucial one-on-ones were totally censored, and youwouldn't know the nitty gritty details of the death. Truly marred myenjoyment of the movie. What gives?
Code 3 DVD contains some extras, like Extracts from the Book – BlackTiger's Philosophy and Rumpoey's Guilt, explaining a bit more about thelead characters, Insights into the Film Aesthetic takes a look at theSala Raw Nang, or "Awaiting the Maiden", the quintessential Thaishelter, and how Rattana Pestonji (indie Thai filmmaker) had influencedthe set design, especially the colours. The extras is topped off with aone static screen Director's Inspiration, and the list of awards whichthis film has won.
Inadvertently starting a riot at the Cannes Film Festival is probablynot the best way to make friends and influence people but it certainlymakes for an invigorating evening. It was in 2000 when I was there witha group of 'producers' trying to interest wheelers and dealers in afilm project when we were suddenly 'adopted' by a television crew whoattempted to use us as leverage to get themselves into the celebrityladen MTV party. Push quickly came to shove, the security Gestapo gotirate and before we knew it, it was war! The fracas in question had,according to news reports, George Clooney and the All Saints coweringunder tables. As chairs began to fly and the gendarmes got busy withthe batons we escaped the mayhem and stood and watched it from acrossthe rue unaware that there was another, more constructive, upheavaltaking place on the Cote D'azure with the first ever entry fromThailand – Tears of the Black Tiger.
'Tiger' was about to herald in the so called 'Thai New Wave'challenging the dominance of Japan and Hong Kong as the prime moversand shakers of Asian cinema – and what an debut!
A lysergic western that tells the tale of a young man whose family ismurdered and so joins up with a gang of bandits with vengeance on hismind. He soon builds a reputation earning him the name Black Tiger. Hisgang inevitability come into conflict with the local establishment, butwhen he discovers his childhood sweetheart is to marry a police captainhe struggles to maintain peace between the gangs and the authoritiesbut his efforts (much like our film project bid) quickly spiral intountold chaos.
Taking place between parallel dimensions of a colour-saturated WildWest and contemporary Bangkok, Tears of the Black Tiger is a moving 3Dpostcard of retro-camp kitsch, and because of this, the suddenexplosions of (literally) teeth shattering violence are all the moreoutrageous. The term 'visual feast' seems made for director WisitSasanatieng's masterpiece as it takes 50's melodramas, SpaghettiWestern's (or should that be Noodle Eastern's?) and Anime action andputs them through the wringer, resulting in a film that embraces asmany conventions as it seems to demolish .
As my own attempts to storm the Bastille of the film industry have, todate, yielded little fruit, I appreciate all the more a film thatappears to have flaunted all the rules and has no agenda but its own.'Tears of the Black Tiger' is a brilliant example of revolt sans riot.
In this age in which just about every other film seems to be a sequel,adaptation or remake of a previous work, it seems positively ungratefuland counterproductive to criticize a movie for being TOO innovative andcreative – yet that is exactly the case with "Tears of the BlackTiger," a movie that is a mixture of so many different genres andstyles that it is virtually impossible to explain what it is like toanyone who hasn't actually seen it.
Indeed, if the term, in and of itself, were not self-contradictory andmeaningless, one might be tempted to call "Tears" a "Chinese ItalianWestern," seeing as it draws much of its look and style from those"spaghetti westerns" Clint Eastwood made his name with in the 1960's:"A Fistful of Dollars, "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Badand the Ugly." Yet, that would be an inadequate description of "Tearsof the Black Tiger" as well, since the movie also looks like one ofthose glossy 1950's melodramas by Douglas Sirk, on the order of"Magnificent Obsession," "Imitation of Life," and "All That HeavenAllows" (albeit with an all Chinese cast). It certainly makes for abizarre hybrid, to say the least, but, despite its originality, thistale of an unlikely romance between a gun slinging outlaw (the BlackTiger) and a classy beauty from the upper classes – who seem to beinhabiting entirely different centuries, let alone entirely differentparts of the world – fails to ignite much interest in the viewer.
With its cartoon-like violence, highly stylized settings, arch actingand corny dialogue, the film is obviously intended to be anaffectionate send-up of the kind of escapist, popcorn movies Hollywoodhas been exporting to the world for nearly a century now. But the movieis too strained to be truly funny, too artificial to be trulyinvolving, with its jumbled, out-of-chronological-order narrativestructure finally frustrating the viewer past the point of caring. Thebold, garish colors add to the film's air of surrealism, but mostpeople will probably weary of the movie once the novelty of the concepthas worn off.
"Tears of the Black Tiger" is a film one would like to support andadmire, but the sad truth is that, in this case at least, thefilmmakers were not able to pull the thing off. "Tears of the BlackTiger," for all its goodwill and craftsmanship, earns an "A" foreffort, but a mere "Gentleman's C-" for the product overall.