Holy jumpin'. The Thais are really upping the ante with some solid entries into the epic action film genre. First there was the impressive footage reel of Queens of Pattani and now we get our first look at a sales flyer for another Thai film, Yamada, from the studio Sahamongkolfilm Co. whom has brought us other great Thai films like Ong Bak and Tom yum goong.
So, without giving too much away, here is the premise of the film. Thai King, Naresuan, brought the best fighters from around the world to aid him in the fight against the Hongsawadee. Among them is a Japanese warrior named Yamada. A group of thieves dressed as the Hongsawadee army begin to pillage small defenseless villages. Unconvinced that it is the Hangsawadee that is doing this King Naresuan commands that a small troop be gathered to investigate these happenings. Yamada is chosen to lead this group of soldiers and uncover the true identity of this group. Soon they discover that these bands of thieves are Japanese and they have infiltrated high into Naresuan's command. Yamada is betrayed, nearly killed, and rescued by a small group of Siamese. He is cared for by a monk, the village lord's daughter Jamba and 7 year-old orphan Kratin. As Yamada heals and gathers his strength he is taught Muay Thai and traditional Siamese sword fighting which he adapts with his own Japanese fighting skills. The monk also tattoos Yamada with a pattern that is supposed to grant holy protection and strength. In time, King Naresuan comes to the village to enlist fighters as his personal guard. After a series of grueling tasks Yamada and his new friends become Naresuan's personal bodyguards. Soon Yamada will meet with his betrayers and be able to exact out his revenge. So, without giving it all away I think that about does it. Follow the jump for a larger version of the poster, some conceptual art, and an exhaustive four-page synopsis of the film which does contain spoilers so I am warning you now. But, from what I read, Yamada sounds like it could be really, really good.
Khorb Koon [Thank you] Jiangtou.
And now the exhaustive synopsis. Again, I'll issue a SPOILER WARNING because it goes into a lot of detail in four pages. I won't paste the images, just links to full sized ones. Practice safe browsing.
Film looks interesting.I imagine "Yamada" is loosely based on actual historic figure Yamada Nagamasa who fled to Siam from Japan in warring state period of 17th century.Yamada led band of Samurais who become mercenaries
in the court of Ayutaya and fought against Pagan dynasty of Burma.His life is already made into a film in'59 in Japan "Yamada Nagamasa,Ohujya no Ken"(Sword of the king)with location in Thailand.The real Yamada was poisoned by unknown believed to be
related the with power struggle between the king and his ministers.
I wonder who would be playing the "Yamada" character. This movie sounds really interesting and it looks like the Thai film industry is growing by leaps and bounds, especially in regards to their scripts. I'll definitely keep my eyes open for any future development on this film.