Baan Muay Thai (2021) [Film Review]

Baan Muay Thai; or, The Measure of a Man
     When I was 19, I could do anything. Hurt but no real problem. One or two days and I was fine. Now it is not the same.
It’s time for another indie feature! In this review, I would like to take a look at Baan Muay Thai, a debut production directed and written by Charles Garrett. I heard about the film for the first time a little over a year ago when the Asian Film Fans team was working on a video review. I was lucky enough to interview the director and hear the surprising and extremely detailed backstory of the film.

Release Info

Directed by: Charles Garrett Starring:Charles Garrett, Khao Janhom, Pracha Tetsungnoen, Suttiya Jamlongpan

Language: English, Thai Original Title: Baan Muay Thai

Synopsis
Max (Charles Garrett) is a Londoner who spends his days in a trading business. One day, he is called by a good friend from Thailand. The ailing coach wants Max to help in reinvigorating their training camp and participate in an exhibition match. Max quits his job and goes back to the land where he once trained in order to rediscover the art of Baan Muay Thai.

Honour of the Gym
The first thing which definitely transpires while watching Baan Muay Thai is the naturalistic, guerilla-like filmmaking style. As a viewer, you are really under the impression that what you are seeing is a documentary about a British guy who wants to help out his friends in need and reconnect with his inner self in the process.

In consequence, Baan Muay Thai goes for the feeling rather than the experience. Do not expect this movie to be yet another action-packed rehash of Enter the Dragon (1973) or Ip Man (2008). You will not find Donnie Yen or Angela Mao here. This movie is about real struggles and real characters and it boldly ventures into the kitchen-sink drama territory of the first Rocky (1976) picture.

Be prepared for steady camera work, beautiful overview shots of Thailand, and nuanced but sparse dialogue. The director has recently recut the film, and the updated version certainly has a better pacing and is easier to follow in terms of narration. In addition, the English subtitles are hardcoded which eliminates the problem of translation not displaying properly during the screening.

Recommendations
If you are on the lookout for a calm, poignant drama with great visuals, then I recommend Baan Muay Thai. I sincerely hope that Charles Garrett will keep on making more indie films with the same type of true-to-life ambience. My thanks go to the director for sharing the screener and I am looking forward to part II.

Overall score: 7/10

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The Tournament (1974) [Film Review]

The Tournament; or, Angela Mao vs. Thailand

This week’s review will be about a movie from Angela Mao Ying’s golden years at Golden Harvest Productions. In the early 70’s she starred in such martial arts classics as Hapkido (1972), When Taekwondo Strikes (1973), and The Tournament (1974) (not forgetting about her small fighting role in Enter the Dragon). As I have accidentally stumbled upon The Tournament, I thought it would be a good idea to review this somewhat overshadowed film by the awe of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.

Release Info

Directed by: Wong Fung Starring: Angela Mao Ying, Carter Wong, Guan Shan, Got Heung-Ting

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 中泰拳壇生死戰 Movie Industry: Hong Kong Runtime: 94 min

Plot

A sister of a martial arts student is kidnapped by gangsters. They are willing to give her back in exchange for ransom, which the brother does not have. However, he heard about Thai boxing matches for money. Thus, he goes to his master (Got Heung-Ting) for help. The master has doubts about going to Thailand and putting out Kung Fu against Thai boxing, but he eventually agrees. Unfortunately, the student dies on the ring and ashamed master Liu returns to Hong Kong. The Martial Arts Association turns its back on him and revokes his membership. Devastated master commits suicide. Nevertheless, his daughter Lau Siu-Fung (Angela Mao) and son (Carter Wong) decide to avenge their father by taking on the oblivious members of the association and Thai boxers. Some sorry asses are about to get kicked!

Hail to Kung Fu

Surprisingly, The Tournament is a pleasant watch and it delivers its main premise: Angela Mao beating up random thugs back to Qin dynasty. The beginning is very slow-paced and a bit confusing, so you have to pay attention to details, but it perfectly establishes the drama (master Liu’s loss of honour) and the emotional motivation for the character of Feng. As a result, it is all the more enjoyable when the real fighting starts 40 minutes into the film.

In addition, in a similar fashion to Hapkido (1972), the movie contains anti-Japanese undertones as Feng not only has to face fellow Kung Fu masters, but also Karate students who want to take over her house. This creates an explosive mix halfway through the movie and an excellent opportunity to display some of the best battles with Angela. We see her beating the living hell out of the Chinese, the Japanese, and… Sammo Hung himself (another time when Sammo got bashed by Angela was in When Taekwondo Strikes (1973)).

When hordes of opponents finally give in, Feng and her brother finally to travel to Thailand (accompanied by a catchy incidental music that might have inspired Lalo Schifrin when composing Rush Hour score) and, obviously, go against the Thais. Sadly, Carter Wong is nothing more than just a punching bag in the story and the whole burden of saving the day rests on Angela’s shoulders. This is especially visible in the boxing matches (very well choreographed) as well as in the finale in Ayutthaya (thumbs up for shooting on the real location). However, Golden Harvest had to utilise yet another stereotype by putting Angela against (some random but intimidating) foreigner towards the end of the film. Still again, it’s a joy to watch her in action.

 

Recommendations

If you are tired of re-watching Bruce Lee flicks, you can safely turn to Angela Mao. The Tournament is one of my personal favourites from Angela’s repertoire and I safely recommend it to anyone who is in dire need of great (but not unbelievable) kung fu battles. In my view, Angela was incredibly fluent, vibrant, and convincing in her fighting scenes. Needless to say, I have to agree with the opinion of others that Angela Mao was indeed the real deal and the true Lady Whirlwind.

Overall score: 8/10