It’s easy to compartmentalize foreign films into certain types – after all, we only see a handful of the movies made for and released in foreign countries every year. As a result, the most knowledge most people have of Thai cinema is Tony Jaa – which isn’t technically a bad thing, but is obviously not the whole story.
Tears of the Black Tiger represents another side of Thai cinema. It’s… well, you should probably watch the trailer yourself to see. The movie, which was made in 2000, is a romantic Western tearjerker – yes, Western as in John Wayne. Made in Thailand. The look of the film is amazing, and if you had told me it was fifty years old I would have completely believed you. At least until the action scenes start, which look like they’re much more modern but no less strange than everything else.
Click here to see the trailer – you owe it to yourself to check out this bit of luscious oddness.
The movie opens this weekend in New York City at the Film Forum. Here’s a list of subsequent playdates, which are just as odd as the movie. Tears looks like it’s hitting Minnesota before it comes to Los Angeles.
1/12/2007
New York, NY: Film Forum
1/27/2007
Honolulu, HI: Doris Duke Theatre
1/31/2007
Huntington, NY: Cinema Arts Centre
2/9/2007
Berkeley, CA: Shattuck Cinemas
San Francisco, CA: Lumiere Theatre
2/23/2007
Chicago, IL: Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema
Minneapolis, MN: Lagoon Cinema
3/2/2007
West Los Angeles, CA: Nuart Theatre
Cambridge, MA: Kendall Square Cinema
Seattle, WA: Varsity Theatre
3/16/2007
San Diego, CA: Ken Cinema
3/30/2007
University City, MO: Tivoli Theatre
4/6/2007
Atlanta, GA: Midtown Art Cinemas 8
4/20/2007
Boulder, CO: International Film Series