Tears of the Black Tiger (2001)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

I vote 10 out of 10. Film was great I enjoyed all of watching time. I have watched more than 5 times and whenever i think of my resemblance with character Dum. He lived alone all his life without love and only thinking Rumpey helped him worth of living. Also I had that feeling in my life that everything hasn't be happy and so this film make me felt so emotions (laughing, a little bit crying) that's for me best film ever. Directors makes films to people so they can really enjoy it and Sasaientag did it to me. Also touching soundtrack helped show the emotions if the characters. So best film ever for me I suggest to watch it at least 1 time very enjoyable!

When I went to see that movie at a cinema a few years ago, I only heard that it was supposed to be good and hadn't read anything else about it. I was in for a treat! At first I wasn't sure if this movie was serious or if it was more like a spoof. That became pretty clear after a few minutes into the movie. It was meant to be funny, but that didn't mean that you didn't care about the characters. Quite the contrary was the case. Whenever you laughed with the characters, you began to like them a little more and more ... Which ultimately worked very good for the drama parts of the movie.This movie walks a very thin line, between comedy and drama. But it never fails to deliver on both occasions. The movie breaks the illusion of being a movie very quickly, also. But that doesn't affect the drama. Although you can see painted backgrounds or back-screen projections in cars (latter are in black-and-white, the movie itself is in color) that doesn't distract.The movie has rich colors which reminded me a little bit of Bollywood movies. That's without all the singing and dancing, so don't worry! ;o) If you like your movies a little off beat and weird, go out and watch this one! Don't forget: It's OK to laugh! :o)

After his father was killed a young man named Dum joins a group of bandits who dress up cowboys and roam the countryside of Thailand. After joining them he soon has made a name for himself as the fasted gun in the east and which he is known as the Black Tiger. But in the back of his mind is a childhood sweetheart that grew up in the upper class of society and despite Dum coming from a poor family they decided to meet at a particular place to reunite. Though, Dum gets caught up in gunfight and misses the chance to be with his loved one. So because of that she is married off to a policeman, but this doesn't stop Dum from trying to get in contact with her, even if something always gets in between them.Wow! Did someone splash some sort of painting on the screen? What a feast for the eyes, but the substance was clearly drowned out by the vibrant plateau of ultra-bright colours and by also the deviously campy style the director opted out for. These visuals just leap off the screen and were more than impressive. Sadly because of the style being the 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's happening in the background. It's one of those films when style is everything. Even the spoof element foreshadows the plot. Closer attention in building something stronger in the plot could have made this a more perfect viewing.This Thai film is filled with many, that's MANY homage's from the western genre, especially that off Leone's spaghetti westerns. All of this is blended in with formulaic clichés and a romantic twist about fate. This tragic love story isn't particularly new, but the way they interwoven the eastern culture with the western. There are enough unpredictable patterns drawn up. The storyline isn't a linear one, because we explore into our protagonist's past midway through the flick, looking at why he became an outlaw and how important this girl has been in his life. While the opening and ending scenes are set in the present time. Actually, I was kind of confused about the whole setting, but I found out it's set in the modern times, but the outlaws are just dressed up as cowboys. Basically the film goes out of its way to blind us with it's weirdness and zestful context, but amongst all of this it mixes elements of Thai traditions to that of Hollywood successfully to give us a laugh and create some excitement along the way.The production follows that of the early spaghetti westerns filming techniques. These things range from sharp editing, to the kinetic and circulating camera-work. The quick pans always seem to have a mind of its own. The pulsating score splashes out a variety of eastern, but also western themes. Even one of Ennio Morricone's themes from "The Good, the bad and the Ugly" is continuously given a spin. *Hmm* the score actually seems to be on a loop. The way the film looks it does come across like a stage show and the pacing is somewhat up and down. Although when it gets into Western extravaganza with the wild shootouts and loud explosions it's simply eye catching with the amount flair and wham-bang awe that's generated. These moment are filled with arty images, but they let the red paint spill out gratuitously. They do go over-the-top at times, like its been ripped out of a comic book. That can go to the final stand off, which has some panache about it and ends rather nasty. All I got to say is Ouch! That's gotta hurt! I kept asking myself if I was watching a cartoon and that's definitely because of the look, but also the performances. These characters were beyond cheesy, and all had massive egos, well except for the two leads that were kinda flat. Those outlaws with their colourful outfits and sinister laughter were just ridiculously hilarious! I just love how it found something to take the mickey out of. Everything about the film is well equipped with it being snazzy and polished up. Replacing the grit and rawness found in most spaghetti westerns, by keeping in the mode of the technicolour Hollywood westerns. Oh, well.It's no more but a terribly cheesy parody (and a decent one too) with steroid pumping visuals. But a definite warning as this film is not for everyone. If you enjoyed the offbeat "The Happiness of the Katakuris" (2001) you might find something to like here.

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.