A TASTE OF ‘CHOCOLATE’ : On location for the latest Thai action classic.

I’m about to fly to Bangkok for the premiere of Chocolate, the latest martial arts actioner from Thai genre film powerhouse Prachya Pinkaew and his Baa-Ram-Ewe Productions. Prachya may not yet be a household name outside his native land, but he has more than made his mark of Asian action cinema. He directed the ground-breaking Tony Jaa epic Ong Bak and its follow-up, Tom Yum Goong, released by Dragon Dynasty, with great success, as The Protector. You might think that catching the Tony Jaa lightning was an easy job, but it worth bearing in mind that Jaa had been searching in vain for a break for at least 5 years before signing with Sahamongkol to shoot his breakthrough vehicle. Prachya has directed and produced dozens of titles in every genre, and, as I prepare to screen his latest production, I remember my earlier visit to the set of Chocolate.

The concept of the film is so ingenious, I’m amazed no-one beat Prachya to it: Zen, an autistic Thai girl, possesses the savant ability to ‘upload’ fighting skills simply by watching martial arts movies. Like the Chow Yun-fat character in God Of Gamblers, the eponymous Chocolate is her TV snack of choice. Zen must use her combat abilities when she sets out to claim the debts owed her cancer-stricken mother.

I first heard the pitch for this from Prachya himself at the Pusan film festival, where he showed me images of his new discovery, Nitcharee Wismitanant, who now goes by the nom-du-guerre of ‘Jee Ja’. Jee Ja has a Taekwondo background, and was at that time undergoing extensive training with the stunt team of Panna Rittikrai, master to Tony Jaa and himself a legendary Thai action director. (We have his Born To Fight available on Dragon Dynasty.)

It was evident from the earlier trailers and other footage from the film that Jee Ja was an extraordinary physical talent, and also, given that this was her film debut, a surprisingly capable actress. I was delighted when Prachya and his long-time producer, Pooki, invited me to visit the set.

Baa-Ram-Ewe (the name of which was, indeed, inspired by the film Babe) is located in a non-descript quarter of the Bangkok suburbs. By Hong Kong standards, the facility is surprisingly spacious, a campus including the company’s production offices, editing and post-production facilities, a full-size gym and a soundstage including extensive green screen apparatus.

On arrival, I make my way onto the stage, which is now occupied by a huge, two-level ‘dojo’ set. It rather resembles the one in which Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne spar in the first Matrix, with a handful of Kill Bill’s House of Blue Leaves thrown in. Prachya offers his usual shy but affectionate greeting and offers me a chair behind the monitor. The shot concerned sees Jee Ja clash with a track-suit wearing opponent who moves with an odd, jerky gait, like a kung fu zombie. Her attacker suddenly executes a leaping, spinning movement, and, time after time, Jee Ja must evade the kick, until Prachya is happy with the shot.

After the take, we’re introduced. Contrary to her fierce on-screen fighting persona, Jee Ja has a bright smile and very gentle disposition. I tell her that I consider myself her first fan in the west. To my surprise, she thanks me in English. Jee Ja is still in college, studying film, and can easily hold a conversation in the language. I ask how she prepared for the acting side of the role, and she explains how she went to a centre for autistic children and spent hours interacting with them. She is very keen that autism be presented in the film in a compassionate light, showing both the challenges and the magic of this strange, sad condition. It’s the kung fu version of Rain Man!, chimes in the irrepressible Prachya.

The hardest attribute a martial artist needs to develop when making movies is not how to deliver a convincing blow, but how to take one. On the next take, the poor Jee Ja learned the hard way when she caught an unscripted smack on the nose. This is clearly not the first bump she’s taken during the shoot, and she accepts treatment with commendable calm. (On the official Chocolate website, http://www.chocolate-movie.com/#, you can see a shot of Jee Ja holding a blue ice bag to her nose, with Prachya and myself chatting in the background. Its not that we didn’t care, it’s just that she told us to go away and not bother her!)

Having launched the world’s latest male action hero with Ong Bak and The Protector, Prachya is determined that his new discovery will prove a worthy stable mate to Tony Jaa. I left the Chocolate set convinced that, if Jee Ja didn’t become a star, it wouldn’t be for lack of effort…

(Note : This set visit happened some time ago, under the kind auspices of Sahamongkol Films’ Gilbert Lim, but he asked me to hold back the report until nearer the film’s release.)

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