Thai legend gets grand treatment
There's a whole lot of genuflecting going on in The Legend of Suriyothai, a splendid and bejeweled historical epic set in 16th-century Thailand. Comely courtesans bow down to kings, and comely queens bow down to kings, and even a comely prince or two defer in a humble, nose-to-the-ground manner to those more lordly and strong. Set against a backdrop of royal intrigue and colonial intervention (Portuguese explorers have made landfall), this lavish spectacle centers on the exploits of Queen Suriyothai (M.L. Piyapas Bhirombhakdi), a courtly beauty who sacrifices herself for her kingdom, staving off a horde of Burmese invaders. The film's final battle - a huge parade of armored combatants, charging horses and marauding elephants - is a cinematic marvel, and so is the star, wielding weaponry and straddling a behemoth trunked creature as she heads to her noble death.
There's a whole lot of genuflecting going on in The Legend of Suriyothai, a splendid and bejeweled historical epic set in 16th-century Thailand. Comely courtesans bow down to kings, and comely queens bow down to kings, and even a comely prince or two defer in a humble, nose-to-the-ground manner to those more lordly and strong.
Set against a backdrop of royal intrigue and colonial intervention (Portuguese explorers have made landfall), this lavish spectacle centers on the exploits of Queen Suriyothai (M.L. Piyapas Bhirombhakdi), a courtly beauty who sacrifices herself for her kingdom, staving off a horde of Burmese invaders. The film's final battle - a huge parade of armored combatants, charging horses and marauding elephants - is a cinematic marvel, and so is the star, wielding weaponry and straddling a behemoth trunked creature as she heads to her noble death.
Whittled down from four hours (by executive producer Francis Ford Coppola), Suriyothai is hard to track at times - the comings and goings are on a Shakespearean scale, and the cast is crowded. But the film, directed by Chatri Chalerm Yukol, a real-life Thai prince, is mesmerizingly beautiful and charged with emotion.
There is also plenty of royal naughtiness, sex and betrayal, and a window into a 20-year span of Thailand in the Middle Ages that may not be wholly realistic, but is certainly fantastic.
Contact movie critic Steven Rea
at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com.
The Legend of Suriyothai
*** (out of four stars)
Written by Chatri Chalerm Yukol and Sunait Chutintaranond, directed by Yukol. With M.L. Piyapas Bhirombhakdi and Mai Charoenpura. In Thai with subtitles.
Running time: 2 hours, 22 mins.
Parent's guide: R (violence, nudity, adult themes)
Playing at: Ritz at the Bourse and Ritz Sixteen/NJ