Ong-bak: Muay Thai Warrior

During previous screenings of this ultimate Thai martial arts action film, audiences almost demolished the cinemas. No flies on Bruce, Jet and Jackie of course, but protagonist Panom Yeerum (alias Tony Jaa) flummoxes, overwhelms and leaves you breathless. He flies from left to right across the screen with his limbs in every conceivable and inconceivable position. The Muay Thai martial art has found a perfect ambassador with this film. The fight scenes and authentic stunts are screened beautifully, without trampolines or aids that have to be removed digitally. A holy Buddha statue with the name Ong Bak is stolen from a small village in the countryside of Thailand. A young man, Boonting (Tony Jaa), is ordered to pursue the thief and recover the religious statue. On the way, Boonting has to use his amazing athletic body and traditional Muay Thai techniques to fight his opponents. Prachya Pinkaew previously produced a vampire film, a sing-along musical and a horror film for Thai cinemas. Now this idiosyncratic (and unashamedly commercial) film maker has successfully turned to the martial arts genre.