On Film: Tears of the Black Tiger

Written and Directed by Wisit Sasanatieng

Starring Chartchai Ngamsan, Stella Malucchi, Suwinit Panjamawat, Sombati Medhanee

Be still my heart! A Thai Western?  After a big plate of Pad Thai, ginger rice and a bowl of Tom Yum Goong, I was in the front row as Tears of the Black Tiger opened up at my local arthouse theater.

The Movie

Seua Dum (Chartchai Ngamsan) and Rumpoey (Stella Malucchi) meet as youngsters and immediately bond. But fate drives them apart. It would have been hard for Dum and Rumpoey anyway as Rumpoey is from a wealthy family and her family has their heart set on her marrying someone of equal social status.

So, circumstances intercede in their lives and prevent them from being together. They both grow up and Dum has fallen in with a bad crowd of bandits and is known now as the Black Tiger. Rumpoey grows into a beautiful woman and her father has arranged for her to marry Captain Kumjorn. Captain Kumjorn has sworn to either kill or arrest every member of Dum’s gang, including Dum’s rival, Mahasuan. Now, Mahasuan and Dum started out as friends and swears before Buddha to be friends, but between betrayals and fights, Dum can’t trust anyone.

Dum cannot forget Rumpoey and their paths cross once again. Dum is determined to sort out his life and make Rumpoey his wife. Will fate allow these star crossed lovers to be together?

Tears of the Black Tiger has elements of any traditional Spaghetti Western, but the sensibilities and style of this film flips those clichés on their ear: bandits have gunfights in front of surrealistic painted backdrops, blood and gore flows like a horror film, and at times, the film almost feels like a comic book adaptation of a western. These bandits don’t just carry traditional weapons; they carry machine guns and bazookas too.

The color palate of this film has to be seen to be believed. It is absolutely eye-popping. The cinematography reveals an amazing array of turquoise, pin, magenta, yellow, gold, red and green.  I learned through research that the breathtaking color palate of this film was achieved through set design and lighting and tweaking the film digitally before transferring the final version to 35mm film. It is absolutely gorgeous.

The performances by all leads are solid and Mahasuan (Supakorn Kitsuwon) rocks his pencil thin mustache like no one else could. Dum (Chartchai Ngamsan) turns in a pitch perfect performance and is suitably heartbroken and melancholy when the scene calls for it. Rumpoey, portrayed by Stella Malucchi, is beautiful and has a wonderful “old Hollywood” screen presence.

And, the soundtrack is awesome. Traditional Thai music combined with influences of Ennio Morricone. I am not going to stop searching until I find the soundtrack. It will be mine.

While the middle of the film feels a bit padded and sluggish, I really enjoyed Tears of the Black Tiger. Trust me, you haven’t seen anything like this before and you won’t soon forget it.

7.5/10

Suzie Lackey