KING NARESUAN (Thailand, 2007)
Directed by: Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol
Starring: Wanchana Sawatdee, Pratcha Sanavatananont, Grace Mahadumrongkul, Intira Jaroenpura, Nopachai Jayanama
KING NARESUAN 2 (Thailand, 2007)
Directed by: Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol
Starring: Wanchana Sawatdee, Chatchai Plengpanich, Intira Jaroenpura, Sorapong Chatree, Sompob Benchanukul

Alright folks, this is the big one. An avalanche of thundering elephants coming off the screen like a tidal wave. The Old and New Testament of Thailand. It’s KING NARESUAN 1 & 2, the biggest two all-time blockbusters ever released in Thailand, telling the story of King Naresuan the Great (also known as the Black Prince), Thailand’s warrior king who protected Thailand from the Burmese and who conquered more territory than any other Thai king before or since. Directed by Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol, 19th in line for the Thai throne, the first KING NARESUAN movie is the Genesis and Exodus of Thailand, while KING NARESUAN 2 is like the first four Gospels, telling the tale of how King Naresuan founded modern day Thailand and liberated it from Burma in the sixteenth century. While there are no good guys or bad guys in these two movies, since everyone is depicted as a statesman and politician pursuing an imperial destiny rather than a superhero or an archfiend, there are also no subversive surprises. The NARESUAN movies are populist entertainment at its best. Will you learn something new about the human heart? Not so much. Will your blood get pumping, your heart get pounding and your grin split you face in half? Hell, yes.

Part 1, also called “Hostage of Hongsawadee,” finds the tiny kingdom of Ayutthaya (modern day Thailand) invaded by Hongsawadee (which later became Burma) and the seven-year-old Prince Naresuan handed over as a hostage to the Hongsawadee king in order to ensure his conquered country’s continued fealty. The Hongsawadee king takes a liking to this kid and has him trained in the arts of war, language, religion and politics. Subconsciously, he seems to know that he’s providing his eventual destroyer with all the weapons he’ll one day need to leave Burma and turn Thailand into a power to be reckoned with. Part 1 chronicles Prince Naresuan’s childhood in Burma, the intricate political maneuvering, hostage exchanges and court intrigues that saw the rise of Hongsawadee as a military power capable of crushing all opposition and the eventual return of Prince Naresuan to Thailand. These movies are capable of switching from the super-scale epic to the human-sized portrait in a single breath, and the lush sets and costumes provide an endless parade of eye candy.

Part 2, aka “The Reclamation of Soveriengty,” finds Prince Naresuan now governor of the capital of Ayutthaya and slowly forming a ragtag coalition of loyal provinces. But then the Hongsawadee king who raised him dies and the politics heat up until Prince Naresuan is backed into a corner by the hostile successors to the Hongsawadee throne. It all hits critical mass and the politics implode into a supernova of 17th Century warfare, treating us to 90 minutes that are a perfect storm of battles featuring a band of women warriors, hurled axes, enormous batteries of roaring canons and charging war elephants unleashed in an orgy of destruction, heroism, tragedy and sacrifice. 

The director is a member of Thailand’s royal family and these two movies, especially when taken together, transport audiences to another planet where they see the world through Thai eyes. Not only are the advanced technical values and slick skills of Thai filmmakers on full, gob-smacking display, but these epics are a supremely entertaining introduction to Thailand’s attitude towards its history and its royalty, who are revered practically as gods. If you’ve ever thrilled to GUNGA DIN or if you have a thing for glittering royal intrigue on gilded, arena-sized sets, then these two movies are going to taste like a five and a half hour binge on the glossiest candy imaginable. You could go see imaginary wars and battles fought by digital puppets in movies like PRINCE CASPIAN this summer, or you could see real flesh and blood people use six-foot-long rifles to recreate the bloody, stirring battles that shaped the world in which we live.