rwmpro
I think that this film adds to diversity and is very accurate in terms of historic reconstruction. The way it shows the various communities leaving together in Thailand is very interesting...The Portuguese, the Japanese, and the various communities being managed by the king. The plots around the court are as usual a struggle for power with a lot of treason. The wardrobe is fine. The film is also done locally in Thailand in a reasonable production. The scene with the elefant as executors is very interesting. It is fun and I think that is also usable in schools for its historic accuracy because it shows that the European in Asia were subjects of the local kings in way very different from the traditional Hollywood perspective.
charlytully
My DVD box calls her "Yossanadee Hassadeevicht," the movie credits bill her as "Yoe Yossawadee," and IMDb dubs her "Yoe Hassadeevichit," but by any name, a weed is a weed is a weed, so when Yoe's Queen Sudachan's head appears on a pike in the upper right corner of the final shot, viewers of THE KING MAKER will sigh that it's about time this dandelion was decapitated. This probably is one of the five most expensive Thai films ever; it's tragically comical that the producers did not spend the extra thousand to hire a professional loop group, opting to dub this sometimes visually stunning pix with pidgin English, instead. The only thing that could have made this effort more ludicrous would be to have Yoe waltzing with her hired ninja assassins to the strains of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from the far more accomplished THE KING AND I (which is also "based on a true story" from Siamese history).
chrissma
Warning Spoiler. . . I have to agree with you, it was almost there. This was such a bad movie, about such and interesting true story. It had such promise, but the acting was ridiculous at best. Some sets were beautiful and realistic. Others are something out of a theme park. I found myself laughing as I watched, what was suppose to be, serious scenes. I really wanted to like this movie, but I couldn't. The best part was the fight between friends that ended with the "King" dying. I liked the Queens' punishment. And, the final shot made a beautiful picture, though. There are so many better movies to watch. I don't recommend this.
parhat
The movie was to be shown here in Bangkok with all the fanfare and even in the theater, it failed miserably.Apparently the story writer just don't hold water. Something was definitely missing. In my opinion people must have a reason why they watch it other than historical glimpse of the past. Accuracy of history is not what we look for in entertainment.The movie just lack any substance. The only way to do this movie right was somehow make changes where it stands as some kind of a legend instead of just a story. And a legend will have certain elements that tries to tell you something that people have forgotten through time, such as the meaning of sacrifice, nationalism, etc. It is called the central theme.The movie fails to answer, why would I watch it anyway?At least some strange legendary Flying Elephants, psychic king, or the eccentric king such as "The King and I" would have been lovely, something would have added greatly to the movies' appeal. I guess there was no appeal other than a plain vanilla movie. Once you got the appeal, then the story is the next thing we concentrate on. In marketing terms, we call it "must see". Upon hearing the title of the movie people would say, Oh, I must see it. Now where's the appeal in Kingmaker? Why not just redo the title and call it, "How NOT to be a King?" and make a black comedy of the old Siamese days, to the style of "Dr. Strangelove". That would have been much more interesting. Narrative-like experiences of the foibles of the King from first persons goofs off would have made the movie extremely funny. Most movies today have that "must see" appeal, such as Spiderman, Men X, these titles speak for themselves. If they don't have familiar characters, some other movies such as, The Island, had an appeal itself when the advertising asks "Do you still believe there is an Island?". Or for the movie, retitled "How NOT to be a King" might ask the question, "So do you still WANT to be a King?" Parhat
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