TIFF Report: Bangkok Loco Review
Where to even begin with something like this? Fusing elements of the teen sex comedy, martial arts epic, police thriller and the musical, Bangkok Loco is one of those massively genre hopping efforts that tend to fail miserably when attempted in North America but succeed occasionally overseas. The only film I can think of that comes even close to the mix of elements on display here is the woefully underappreciated Six String Samurai but Bangkok Loco's lurid color scheme and caffeine driven pacing break that comparison down as well. Here's all you really need to know: it's very odd, very good and very funny.
Following a brief nod to Star Wars in the opening sequence – the first in a long, long list of visual nods to other films running the gamut from Ong Bak to Requiem for a Dream – we meet Bay, a young Thai man living in a Bangkok apartment house where he pursues his dream of attaining the tenth level of the sacred Drums of the Gods. Bay slides into a trance as he rocks the tubs and thus fails to notice when someone replaces his drum sticks with knives and his drums for a corpse which he promptly mutilates into a bloody pulp. Shocked, appalled and very, very bloody when he returns to his senses Bay flees the scene and turns to the only person he can trust for help: Don, the young woman who was once his fellow pupil studying the Drums of the Gods. The situation is dire: Bay swears he did not kill the woman, the police – led by Inspector Black Ear – are on his tail, and it is only days away from the dreaded once per decade drumming duel with the lead pupil of rival sect The Devil's Drums. The last time this duel was held Bay and Don were witnesses as the sheer drumming power of the Devil Drums master killed their sensei and Bay knows the same fate lies in store for him unless he can achieve the tenth level, something which has eluded him thus far. Bay convinces Don of his innocence and the two flee the scene, hoping both to clear Bay's name and find a way to achieve the tenth level before the duel.
The film is a flat out rush of energy. The production design is superb with bright colors everywhere – they go so far as to digitally repaint all the foliage in a countryside scene a garish purply pink – and the director has never met a sight gag he didn't love. Luckily he has met a lot of very, very good sight gags and few, if any, bad ones. That the film makers are able to string so many disparate elements together and do it so incredibly well is a huge testament to their talent. Examples?
The childhood training sequences, shot in black and white with the exception of the blinding yellow Bruce Lee / Kill Bill jump suits the young versions of Bay and Don wear, are a note perfect recreation of the training sequences of any number of classic martial arts films with the obvious exception being that these kids are learning to play rock and roll drums rather than practicing martial arts. The musical numbers are hysterical and fused seamlessly with the rest of the film. Don's band mate's dabblings in witchcraft are good for a handful of laughs. The actual drumming duel – held in a boxing ring – catches the exact atmosphere of any number of sports films. The numerous running gags – the incompetent police inspector constantly trying to kick in outward swinging doors, the soapy buxom women in bikinis for no particular reason, even the interactive tracker dog – all hit strong. They throw in some fantastic, and very unique, animation pieces. And, finally, the film has what has to be the funniest sex scene I've seen in years.
Beautifully shot, tightly edited, well performed, even the special effects are top drawer. To top it all off, this is probably the highest quality Thai DVD I've ever seen in terms of transfer and audio clarity, plus the English subtitles are flawless. There's really nothing to complain about here. Ultimately how you react to the film will depend on how well you connect with the sense of humor and I had no problems on that account. I've been unable to find the writer and director credited anywhere in western text so I have no idea who they are but they fully deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Stephen Chow and Bangkok Loco fully deserves a cult audience on par with Shaolin Soccer, Save the Green Planet or Tears of the Black Tiger. Fantastic stuff.
The Thai DVD of Bangkok Loco is available dirt cheap at Ethaicd.com. Trailer links are here.
