A stylish debut from filmmakers Oxide and Danny Pang or the Pang Brothers, this gritty Thai action drama is about a silent hitman in the shady underworld of Bangkok. It also attracted a fair bit of attention and won the International Critics' Award at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival.
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Growing up in a poor neighborhood, Kong (Pawalit Mongkolpisit) is both deaf and mute and gets bullied constantly as a child. As an adult he works as a cleaner in a gun shooting range where he meets Joe (Pisek Intrakanchit), a hitman and his girlfriend Aom (Patharawarin Timkul). Impressed by Kong's shooting ability during a brief target practice, Jo takes him in and trains him as a small time hitman. Since they work so well as a team, they get more assignments and their bond grows even stronger.
In the meantime, Kong happens to meet a beautiful drugstore assistant Fon (Premsinee Ratanasopha). Intimidated from childhood because of his disability, Kong now finds love, security and acceptance in her. The two get along well and Kong slowly falls further in love with the caring Fon who of course doesn't know he is a hitman. The truth finally comes out one day, leading Fon to break off their relationship. however, by that time Kong is too deeply involved and finds it hard to part with her. Heartbroken and torn between love and his hitman job, he begins to question his life. To make the situation worse, while working in a bar, Aom unfortunately offended a gang member and as a result he raped her. In a rage, Jo goes after the gang for revenge but being outnumbered, it ends badly. Naturally, Kong steps in to help his only true friends and this eventually leads to a bloody gun battle and a tragic end.
Although this is the Pang Brothers' first feature, they manage to bring life and mood to the shady underworld of Bangkok for their characters to live in, with arresting visuals of back streets at night, sleazy strip bars and their inhabitants. Together with some pulsating music, the Pangs are able to make the nightlife of Bangkok seem beautiful but sinister at the same time.
The filmmakers are obviously paying John Woo a tribute here, as the action and the shootouts might look unrehearsed but they feel fresh and unhurried nevertheless. There is the abundant use of slow motion, freeze frames and long takes to push the plot along. On one occasion during a hit in Hong Kong, the action that takes place in the subway and is quite stylishly shot with quick edits and effective use of music to create tension and mood. In general, the production has a gritty, sleazy and down to earth look, the world of hitman Kong is anything but glossy but it's full of atmosphere and tension just the same. The overall action is not the hyperactive kind that is common in Hong Kong action movies, but it's enough to emphasize temperament and induce excitement to the story telling.
The characters are all very well drawn out and you can feel their pain, joy and anger. Pawalit Mongkolpisit who plays Kong, the cold but professional mute hitman, is able to convey a variety of moods through his expressive eyes and movements even though he doesn't speak at all. The pretty shop assistant Fon, played by Premsinee Ratanasopha is equally effective as Kong's caring girlfriend through her soft and gentle ways, besides being easy on the eye. All the other supporting actors do their jobs fairly well, and they seem very comfortable in their settings.
Even with obviously little budget to play with, the Pangs are able to create a production which is visually satisfying even though their screenwriting skills need enhancement. The Bangkok setting with its local colors also helps to give it a unique look which breaths life on to the screen. Interesting in 2008, the Pang brothers remade “Bangkok Dangerous” into a Hollywood movie starring Nicolas Cage with a bad haircut. Although it is a better looking movie because of a bigger budget, it's never as charming as the original.
