Farang (Mayhem!)
Thailand, France | Thai, French, English with subtitles
2023 | 99 Minutes
Director: Xavier Gens
Cast: Olivier Gourmet, Nassim Lyes, Vithaya Pansringarm
French director Xavier Gens (Hitman, Cold Skin) returns to Fantasia after a short absence, to present his new film Farang – although presented here as Farang, this film will be released to North American audiences as the quite unimaginative and oft used Mayhem! (including the exclamation mark.)
Brutal and often unrelentingly violent, Farang (lets stick to the films original title) is hardcore, kick-ass action in every way. It’s as though this movie was made specifically to blow the roof off Fantasia, and the audience sure didn’t disappoint. With the director sat in the crowd, each time a particularly viscous scene aired, the crowd cheered loudly.
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Sam (Nassim Lyes) is a man without freedom. With a few months left on his prison sentence, the amateur boxer enters a work furlough program that allows him to taste the freedom to come. But that freedom proves elusive and a tragic event forces Sam to flee to Thailand, where years later he believes he’s found it with a loving wife (Loryn Nounay) and daughter.
They hope to build a new life on a beachfront property, but ruthless local gangster Narong (Olivier Gourmet) stands in their way. In order to obtain their liberty, Sam must do a favor for Narong, but when it goes south, Narong attacks Sam’s family, forcing Sam to fight for his life, his family.
A throwback to the mighty and fierce action of films of Hong Kong’s heyday, that features some of the best fight choreography in a very long time. The violence is rampant and absolutely brutal and full of a hatred. As a film about revenge probably should be. There’s no love lost here, and no punches held back.
Truth is, there’s nothing new or avant-garde here, as Farang waxes it’s way through some very well worn passages. Guy meets girl, girl gets pregnant, and brutally murdered in front of the guy who almost dies – but doesn’t, heals up and goes on a rampage seeking revenge. We’ve all seen this storyline before and multiple times. I had to look up what the word farang means, and discovered that its definition is a foreigner in Thailand who is of Western ancestry. A slur or sorts.
There’s an opening segment that seems to come about and drift away unresolved – which any genre film fan worthy of their seat knows is surely going to come full circle and rejoin the second act at some point – and it does. There’s no out of left field twists or turns here, and that’s fine.
The second act of the film shows Sam five years down the line, now living in Thailand and with a new wife, step-daughter and child on the way – earning money by working at the airport and through competing in Muay Thai fights. Of course, for this to be a revenge film, bad things need to happen or else there isn’t anything to be vengeful about. Bad things happen. Then the revenge portion of the film kicks in, and all the character development that has been building up now comes into play.
As I’ve already mentioned, the violence that ensures beyond this point is the raison d’etre for this film, and its bread and butter. Had these action sequences not have been executed as brilliantly as they were, the film would have been a flop. The sheer brutality really is the films saving grace – so to that extent; if fisticuffs isn’t something you enjoy watching, there’s little for you here. But for those that do enjoy a good tussle, you’re going to love this.
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Farang knows what it is and doesn’t try to hide it. Credit where it’s due; although bit isn’t treading new ground, it does a fine job achieving what it set out to do. Farang is an over-the-top violent revenge thriller that is filled with great fight choreography and some very, very nasty set pieces. Broken bones, heads smashed into brick walls and a lot of knife work – an exercise in brutality.
As long as the viewer goes into this film with that in mind, I see no reason for Farang not to be thoroughly enjoyed.
