Feb 06 2009
9 Comments
TV & Movies

Chocolate Review

ChocolateThis film promises a lot from its box. A martial arts film like you have never seen from the makers of Ong Bak. The film centres on Zen, an autistic girl. Whos mother (Zin) tries to give her daughter a better life away from the gangs she is trying to leave behind. But when she gets leukemia, its up to Zin to collect the money she is owed to pay for her mothers treatment.

Two things drew me two this film. Firstly the actress playing the lead spent two years training for the role, and no stunt doubles were used for her. So everything you see her do (and she does some amazing stuff) is all her. Secondly the idea of this girl, through her autism, is able to take on the abilities she sees from others is a great idea. Leading to my favorite scene when you see her mimicking Bruce Lee.

With such a promising idea, and such a fabulous actress playing the lead this film had to be a winner. Unfortunately not.

I wanted to love it

I really wanted to love this film. I love the idea of playing with the genre and coming up with novel new ideas around the theme. But the real problem with this film is its story, there is a lot of it, its not well thought through, and drags along behind such a great idea. It focuses very strongly on Zen and the problems in her life. But rather than give you a taste of the battle she faces, her inability to deal with the world around her becomes the main focus of the first half of the film. Coupled with that is the story of her mother. As she becomes sick Zen has to collect the money she is owed, forcing her to use her ability. But as the story goes on she just becomes more and more sick, again stopping you from enjoying the promising idea by just making you feel sad for what she is having to go through (it is well portrayed in quite a heart breaking manner).

So I got to the halfway point and I was thinking it had to get better from here. The story has been drummed into me, now surely its time for the promised action? Not quiet is the answer.. the action is coming, you get to see glimmers of it, but they have not yet finished laying out the story.

But no matter how hard they try, the plot is let down by the bad acting of some of the characters.

Icing on the cake

To put the icing on the cake even technically this film is a let down. With such a talented actress you could just stand back and let her shine. She has some real skill and her fight work is excellent to watch. There are a number of amazing fight scenes in this film that are definitely worth watching, including the climax which I will talk about in a second. But the biggest problem is the way the director cuts the fight scenes, always seeming to cut the shot just as or before a punch/kick connects. I can only assume cutting two shots together. But it seems to happen quiet often. So instead of just being able to enjoy the work, you get this cut, sometimes seeming to miss the action, or just switching to a new strange angle. This means even enjoying the simple fight work becomes hard.

The positive

yanin

The star of the show really shines

The real positive about the film is Jeeja Yanin. As Zen she is excellent, she is brilliant actress, and the two years training she has done really shows. There are a couple of moments in this film when I really could not believe what I was watching. As well as a number of sequences where I really don’t know how they managed to get the shot. It turns out later in the out-takes during the credits how they managed it. When you see someone fall two or three stories and land flat on the concrete, there is a good chance that actually happened for real and the stunt man was hospitalised. They simply kept the shot in the film. But I can not sing the praises of Jeeja enough, she is definitely worth keeping her eye on. I am sure she will make some amazing films in the future.

There are also a number of really well choreographed fight scenes, and some truly brutal sequences (mostly in the meat processing scene). The final stand off has some good work, but is also tinged with tragedy and drags on for a little too long.

Conclusion

As I said before I really wanted to love this film. The idea has such promise with this girl able to take on someones skills just by watching them. This is only really used once in the film, to great effect, but I was hoping for more. Combined with some mediocre acting from some of the cast, and the sad plot means I just can’t love it as much as I would like. There are moments when this film really works (largely in the fight scenes) but its takes quiet a long time to get to the first one, let alone to the better ones later on.

If you get a chance to see it, take a look, you will be rewarded with some excellent work. But its not for everyone, and I would not suggest you go out and buy it.

  • sideswipe

    Such a pity, I too had very high hopes for this after seeing it in the shops. Sounds like it is a drama film with some martial arts rather than a martial arts film with some drama. I’ll still have to see it but it can slide down my things-to-watch list.

  • nikobe

    Why don’t they realise that people watch these types of film for the fights, anything other than fighting is filler to setup a fight.

  • Grizzley8u far east film buff

    “Why don’t they realise that people watch these types of film for the fights, anything other than fighting is filler to setup a fight.” because in the far east it’s not.

    Just take a average movie punch up in the west, one of the really poor ones in a drama well thats their equivalent. Over there a fight has to be good and has to be real and unlike us who settle for some dodgy fat bloke throwing a haymaker that could get dodged by a granny they don’t.

    Then when they bring it over here they talk up the action because its a selling point, over there it was a drama with some kick ass fights. I have a number of movies in the same vein I’m sure its just a western marketing tool.

  • binny

    I don’t think that is true. There is no way they inject this type of Kung-Fu action into every film that needs a fight scene. This is a very specialist film, specifically focusing on the fight scenes (don’t forget the star trained for 2 years to do this part).

    If you look at some of the other films about that need a fight scene, they are very different affairs. Chan-Wook Park’s amazing “Oldboy” ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/ ) for example. Has a fantastic, and unforgettable fight scene (to be honest more effective than anything in Chocolate) but that is what I would class as an honest fight scene done with who they had to hand. The skill of the director pulls it off and its works as part of the film.

    “Chocolate” is very much a classic Kung-Fu film al la Jackie Chan, or Bruce Lee. Unfortunately it just doesn’t have the story telling, or comedy that make their films great.

  • sideswipe

    Seriously did I watch the same film as you? I wouldn’t trade a dozen Oldboys (which I think is overrated and would never EVER watch again) for Chocolate. Anyway, I won’t try to compare two completely different types of film.

    Comparing this to other similar films, I’d rate it better than Warrior King which has Tony Jaa in some similar fights but with a much weaker and frankly annoying story despite there being a more impressive 1 on 1 fight. Ong Bak is a more non-stop action film but outside of Bruce Lee’s work and Jet Li’s Fearless, there aren’t many films that pull off justifying the need for fights and showcase them so well. Pacing-wise, it’s still faster than Curse of the Golden Flower or Crouching Tiger. The fights are dispersed but it’s not that long a film (89mins) – the gap really isn’t that big. I’d say the pacing is probably closest to Jackie Chan’s Police Story films. I’d compare it to a bunch of other films but I know you won’t have seen them so it’s pointless to tell you how wrong you are about the pacing or the acting which for a Martial Arts film isn’t bad, the script may be a little shoddy in places but compared to other contemporaries, nothing earth shattering.

    There was plenty of action in the second half, more than enough to make up for the slow start. I got to see plenty of flowing moves resulting in obvious pain to stuntmen.

    And seriously, are you telling me you watch Bruce Lee films for their story telling? I have to disagree with you on this and disagree in a big way.

  • binny

    I don’t disagree with you the fight work is outstanding. Some of the best I have seen in a long time. But there are lots of odd bits to this film, beside its strange editing.

    But I can not be as forgiving as you as far as story goes. There is so much they want to get across, and it is so depressing, and drags on for so long it just destroys the film for me.

    If they chopped off the first half of the film, came up with a more compelling story, and got rid of some of the terrible actors. This would be a great film.

    Of course I don’t watch Bruce Lee films for their story (unfortunately he died before he got the chance to star in a film with a story to match his skills. Though “Enter the Dragon” hints at was was going to come). But at least those films don’t want to ram it down your throat. They know the story is weak, but have the skills to cover it, and the good grace to just let Mr Lee do his thing.

    But when there are films like “Kung-Fu Hustle”, “Azumi” or “House of flying daggers” that are setting the standard. This film just does not even compare. At no point during either of those three did I think “It would be more fun to slit my wrist than watch a second more of the depressing film”. That’s the feeling I got from this one, when there wasn’t action on the screen. Its to the credit of the lead she plays it so well I really felt bad for her.

    This film would be fine if it were made 15 years ago. But the market has moved on. I expect something a little more sophisticated.

  • sideswipe

    You had better not watch memoirs of a geisha, that is the only film I have ever thought was truly depressing to the point I struggled to watch it and will never ever sit through it again.

    So what if the story is basically a video game plot – Gen from DOA – fighting to get money to pay for hospital bills sound familiar? well at least they reversed the roles which I don’t remember seeing before. It’s still a story not usually done in films and the lead being autistic worked for me, a convincing and really well done plot device to let her learn martial arts and even swordplay. The bit where she learns the brazillian martial art from the guy with the twitch is superb.

    Maybe because I don’t have kids or maybe I have seen so many shounen manga & anime I can sit through the sadness knowing it is making the characters stronger.

    Quite bizarre that when there is a well acted part of story you then use it to bash the film and ask for something sophisticated – seriously wtf?

    Anyway, it’s a shame because if you can get past the sadness it is a great film.
    Granted it’s not Kung Fu Hustle good but I’ve been through all Stephen Chows US/UK released films and a good percentage of his Hong Kong ones and even he doesn’t come that close to it again. I say there is a difference between great and enjoyable – Commando is not great but it is enjoyable. I rank Kung Fu Hustle in my top 2 films ever alongside Spaceballs as the most entertaining films ever but I couldn’t list this anywhere near them as there is too much story but not enough to disqualify it from being a great film all the same. In fact, I’d say the acting is what raises it to a great film instead of a good popcorn film like Azumi.

  • Grizzley8u

    You know I watched it with Sideswipe and I couldn’t agree more, to be honest its a cracking little movie. When you take that its from Thailand which is not known for it’s movie producing prowess it’s even better. I watch bad movies as a matter of course I enjoy them for what they are but this was not one of them.

    This had a plot which you could follow hello Hollywood please take note I want to be able to know what’s going on! It had action in spades! at no point was it slow or poorly paced it went along at a perfectly acceptable pace, thinking now I cannot think of a movie in this style that goes much quicker, yes there was 20 minutes at the start where pretty much nothing happened but that’s called back story and plot something sadly lacking from movies these days, that was where you connected (or not as is probably the case with binny) with the lead character.
    Yes I grant you that if it was a Hollywood movie she would have started as grown up had two 3 minute flashbacks to do the same thing in a Tarentino/CSI way but I’m a little old fashioned and I quite like seeing the beginning at the beginning and the end at the end.

    There are plenty of slower movies out there the Audition for one (I couldn’t even sit through the boring bit at the beginning to get to the other bit). I really liked this movie I cannot say enough nice things about it had a beginning a middle and an end all nicely dusted with some of the best martial arts committed to film in this century (I can say that because we are only a few years in).

    Comparing this movie to Azumi or house of flying daggers is like comparing desperado to Sin City the budget’s just don’t compare, they are not the same movie. Having watched action films from 15 years ago I can tell you, you’ll be glad this movie was made now it is superior in every way. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree but if you ever want to see some proper martial arts movies from the far east let me know, as I’m sure your experience of them is the equivalent of only having watched Spiderman and LOTR if you are from the far east.

  • binny

    Ouch… don’t pull your punches Grizzley.. I can take it like a man, honest. (BTW I did warn you Audition was incredibly slow. But by missing the end you have missed some of the most intense moments I have ever seen commited to film. I think that shows I am willing to sit through if they pay off is enough (or the director knows how to handle the film)).

    I think you are right.. We going to have to disagree on this one.

    As I said. The fight work on this is second to none. Yanin is amazing and I think she has an amazing future ahead of her. I even think I said its a film worth seeing. But there are massive swathes of this movie that are just not necessary. I am all for plot and character development (thats all there is in Audition).

    I will happily sit through a popcorn flick.. We all will. But this film doesn’t have the feel good pay off of those films. It is not content to just be enjoyable, it is trying to get a message over to you and for that reason I can’t put it in that category. But I don’t think that is a bad thing. I would prefer a film has a message it wants to give you instead of just being content as a shelf filler. Look at a film like “Verses” not a high budget film by a long shot, it is well paced and concise. That is what “Chocolate” does not have. It lurches from point to point without much connection between them.

    This brings the most frustrating thing about the film. The idea is genius. It makes perfect sense for her to be able to learn these skills, and to be able to apply them. Even down to mimicing Bruce Lee (excellent to see). She would do that, that is what she saw so that is what she will do. The acting is top rate, to the point where I really had problems working out if it was an act, or if the lead had problems. You just don’t see that very often. But the surrounding actors were terrible, there is no excuse for that.

    Ironically Grizzley I would put “Desperado” ahead of “Sin City”. Its lower budget works well with the look. But the plot stands out ahead of “Sin City”. I have watched “Desperado” many times compared to once for “Sin City”. The action is not all that important. “Content is king” as the saying goes. I would rather watch “Kind Hearts and Coronets” as opposed to “Die Hard” any day of the week.

    I am surprised we are so separated on this film. But I am glad you enjoyed it, and it has found a good home :)

    I agree with you Sideswipe. The bit where she mimics the twitchy Brazilian style is awesome, and I was hoping for more bits like that in the film given the unique idea they are playing with.