Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

afhick "Tears of the Black Tiger" is a stylistic hybrid that brings together the cinematic excesses of Douglas Sirk and Sergio Leone, with a smattering of Quentin Tarrentino. The storyline and dialogue are strictly from hunger, but the voice-over narration can be hauntingly beautiful. It involves a poor boy who falls in love with the governor's daughter. They are separated in childhood and then reunited as adults. In the meantime, the girl has become engaged to a policeman, and the boy has linked up with a band of outlaws and is now known as the Black Tiger. His male-bonding with one of the outlaws is reminiscent of the Monty Clift/Arthur Kennedy relationship in "Red River." It's all very clichéd and yet strikingly original (I half expected a Brokeback angle). The music is folkish, the colors pastel, and the violence over the top. But somehow it makes an impression; this is a film that will continue to haunt me.

DICK STEEL I've borrowed this DVD from the library twice before, but never had the chance to watch it, until now. The appeal is actually to see some of Thai director Wisit Sasanatieng's past works, before his up and coming made-in-Singapore flick called Armful. And I've heard some good things about this movie too.The story combines two different genres into one, the first being a cowboy western, (set in Thailand no less!) and the usual star-crossed lover romance. Perhaps the novelty of the first genre type is having Thai folks dress up as cowboys, riding on their steed and somehow, becoming the villains as they plunder and kill. Yup, they're not the good 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 hero who's forced by circumstances to join the group. Dum (Chartchai Ngamsan), also known as the notorious Black Tiger, renowned fastest and deadliest draw in all of Thailand, has a childhood sweetheart in Rumpoey (Sttella Malucchi). However, their difference in status (he's the son of a servant, while she, the daughter of the governor) meant that it's a forbidden romance to begin with. Knowing his place in her world, he could only admire from afar, becoming her protector, shielding her from harm (like numerous approaches by lechers and bandits).A man gotta do what a man gotta do, and during one of his missions, he failed to meet up with Rumpoey presumably to elope, while she took it as a sign that he didn't want to. Like Romeo and Juliet, she's betrothed to Kumjorn (Arawat Ruangyuth), a police captain captured by Dum's notorious gangster boss Fai (Sombat Metanee). And like all star crossed lovers whose lives are played by Fate, these events start to spin and take on a life of its own, changing the course of our characters lives forever.It's a beautifully shot movie, with plenty of pastel colours draping the sets, which at times make you cringe and beg for it to stop. As if to complement its saccharine sweet and sentimental love story, it elevates the movie to a surreal dream like level. The action sequences can be quite cheesy, with the reminiscence of old spaghetti cowboy western gun fights. But the best bits about the film, are the songs. I don't understand Thai, but even if without the subtitles interpreting the lyrics, I thought that they were beautiful enough to accentuate scenes in the movie.Perhaps my only gripe about the movie in this version of the DVD, is that the bloody violence had been censored, depriving me the bloody glee of watching the Black Tiger dispatch his opponents with his accuracy. There were scenes where footsoldiers bled by the bucketloads of ketchup, but the crucial one-on-ones were totally censored, and you wouldn't know the nitty gritty details of the death. Truly marred my enjoyment of the movie. What gives?Code 3 DVD contains some extras, like Extracts from the Book - Black Tiger's Philosophy and Rumpoey's Guilt, explaining a bit more about the lead characters, Insights into the Film Aesthetic takes a look at the Sala Raw Nang, or "Awaiting the Maiden", the quintessential Thai shelter, and how Rattana Pestonji (indie Thai filmmaker) had influenced the set design, especially the colours. The extras is topped off with a one static screen Director's Inspiration, and the list of awards which this film has won.

BA_Harrison Tears of the Black Tiger is certainly a unique cinematic experience; part western, part comedy and part tragic melodrama, this Thai movie is perfect for those looking for an alternative to predictable Hollywood pap.Dum is the handsome hero of the film, a member of the notorious Black Tiger bandits and a crack shot with a six shooter. Rumpoey is the love of his life, who has agreed to marry Dum; despite their class differences, she has arranged to elope with him. When Dum misses his rendezvous with Rumpoey (due to being caught in a gun battle), she is heartbroken and, under pressure from her father, accepts a proposal of marriage from Police Captain Kumjorn.In a battle between the police and the bandits, Captain Kumjorn is taken prisoner; Dum is given the job of killing the policeman. As a last request, Kumjorn asks that Dum informs his fiancée of his fate and produces a photograph of his wife-to-be. On recognising Rumpoey's picture, Dum frees Kumjorn, but in doing so, he puts his own life on the line...Stylish, funny and occasionally completely off-the-wall, Tears of the Black Tiger is an affectionate homage to Thai movies of yesteryear and Hollywood westerns. It is a strange mix, but it works. Only an occasional lull in pace stops this from being a wholly successful film, but don't let that put you off from watching it—the positives far outweigh the negatives.Heavily stylised scenes and surreal imagery combine with over-saturated hues to produce a most aesthetically pleasing film; the look is reminiscent of musicals from the 50s whilst the occasional moments of graphic ultra-violence could be straight out of a Tarantino movie. Each character is perfectly cast and the comic-book approach taken by the actors in the realisation of their roles complements the overall style of the film.Tears of the Black Tiger is a fun film that is destined to become a cult favourite amongst fans of bizarre cinema (and may even improve on repeat viewings, as with most cult movies).

Philip Van der Veken If you are in for something different than you should definitely see this movie. "Tears of the Black Tiger" is a combination of a spaghetti Western (perhaps I should call it a noodle Western) and a romantic tearjerker, but as if that is not enough, it's also plenty of candy colors and some gory scenes. The story seems to come right out of the fifties and the (over-)acting will remind you of the silent movies in the 1920's and 1930's.I can assure you that it is rather surprising when you see Thai cowboys having a gun fight. It's rather obvious that the director is a great fan of Sergio Leone's work, because sometimes the scenes seem to come right out "Once Upon a Time in the West". And if they aren't almost a literal copy (the water dripping on the cowboy's hat for instance), than they sure have been influenced by it (the harmonica).The story seems to come right out of the fifties: a young couple can't be together because she's the daughter of a governor and he's a gang member from the countryside. She'll have to marry a young police officer, much against her will, and only wants to be with her lover. Of course the police officer and the 'bad guy' will meet...Sometimes the scenes are really magnificent (for instance on the lake with all the lotus flowers and the beautiful landscape), but most of the time the movie is a bit too ridiculous for me. I mean: I can still live with cowboys in Thailand and the colors were something different, but still enjoyable, but overall the story was a bit too naive and unbelievable too my taste. If this movie had been more a "classic" Asian movie, without the sometimes bizarre influences, I would have appreciated it a lot more. Now I give it a 5.5/10.