The Legend of Suriyothai (2001)

The Age of Commercialism

Sadly Over-hyped

Crappy film

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I can understand why this film received rave reviews in Thailand and among the Thais in the US. The sets, the costumes, the battle scenes are exquisite. There are many scenes that show activity of daily living in Thailand in the olden days. Many of those are quite rare these days. It's very good from a historical and cultural point of view. It's the best efforts in Thai cinematography I've seen thus far and much better than a lot of junk that comes out of Hollywood.However, as an entertainment, it's quite lacking. I agree with some comments here that the acting is wooden and the story line disjointed. I do think it will do very well on the History Channel, or as a television series. In time, I hope acting, story lines, and editing in Thai movies will improve and deserve a second look.

I was not impressed. Whether because of FFC's re-editing, or because of the basic film, I can't tell. The acting is flat, which may be a peculiarity of Thai drama and/or film-making, but the flatness makes the emotional dynamics hard to pick up on. The characters are difficult to keep straight; and the main point of the story-the self-sacrifice of the main character-is there, but not emphasized enough to give the film any real narrative drive. Perhaps it was done that way because the principal audience-Thais at home in Thailand-was assumed to know all the characters and be familiar with the story?I have seen and appreciated films dealing with essential historical legends of Asian countries, so I know that it can be done effectively, and in such a way that non-asians can "get" the story. I know I'm supposed to be impressed by the money spent on it, the great costumes, the majesty of the story, and-yes-the elephants! But, at bottom, the story simply isn't told here in a way that delivers much of a punch for me.

This film should be seen, evaluated and considered in its own merit. I find some of the racist comments in this section very detracting and unnecessary. Most of the people who have slammed this epic have demonstrated little or no sensitivity to the depiction of another cultural setting. The film is historical in that it is based on recorded events; the film is traditional in that it is a story known to most of the Thai people. That it does not rise to level of X Men, Kill Bill or the Matrix slamming, moaning and groaning is certainly to its merit. For those weaned on Hollywood, it will seem too long, to drug out and too "expressionless," "Southeast Asians hacking each other up," "boring..." Ugh.When will some of the viewers take the time to consider that not every one of us love exploding cars, graphic shoot'em ups and mindless dialogue. Just consider the film for what it is: an artistic view of an epic from Thai history...and thank God, it ain't Hollywood.

This is a very appealing film for dreamy people easily stirred by beautifully exotic costumes, some compellingly exotic actresses and a few scenes of relentless brutality. The story is complex (and at times downright bewildering) but fascinating, taking place in many places and involving many characters. We get a heavy dose of intrigue, assassination plots, adultery, regicide and betrayal spanning a dozen or so years in the heart of medieval siam (now thailand). By virtue of just that, the movie is worthwhile. But the sometimes dreary, monotone delivery of lines makes the film feel like it was dragging. Though I don't understand a word of thai, the dialogue seemed annoyingly but frequently devoid of sentiment. With sizable patience and curiosity though, this movie can be a rewarding experience.