March 12, 2008
Bangkok - Thai film Chocolate starring a tiny Thai martial arts Yanin "Jeeja" Vismitananda is due for its first international screenings in Hong Kong next month.
At only 162 centimetres (five foot three inches) tall and 43 kilograms (95 pounds), Jeeja is the first woman in two decades to win a leading role in a Thai martial arts movie.
Prachya Pinkaew, Thailand's leading martial arts director, wrote a script that he hoped would win audiences with a compelling plot rather than sexy looks which can’t be found in Jeeja.
Jeeja's character Zen, an autistic girl who has the supernatural ability to copy martial arts moves she sees on television and in video games, does not stand-ins in this movie at all, thanks to her taekwondo skill.
This 100-million-baht (3.2-million-dollar) film has earned almost 70 million baht in Thailand, and has already been sold to Weinstein Company for eventual US release, according to AFP.
Its first foreign release will be in Hong Kong next month, and distributors in Japan, Singapore and South Korea have already signed up for the film.
"Japanese audiences should receive this film better than others because the man who plays Zen's father, Hiroshi Abe, is a superstar there," said Prachya.
He hopes that his earlier credits will encourage international viewers to see this not-so-sweet "Chocolate".
Pracha’s films include world-wide hits like "Ong Bak" and "Tom Yum Goong".
