Tears of the Black Tiger / Fa Thalai Chon (2000)
Blame Harvey Weinstein and Miramax for the botched, years-delayed rollout of this Thai cult film stateside (he tried to shelve it), which thwarted its rightful legacy as a maximalist arthouse classic. This beautifully-rendered, heavily saturated Spaghetti Western — a pastiche of Thai action films and melodramas of the 1950s and 1960s — is as much a heart-wrenching love story as a Looney Tunes-esque riot of cartoonish ultraviolence. Plus: some very, very pretty men.
Director: Wisit Sasanatieng
Cinematographer: Nattawut Kittikhun
Production Designer: Ek Iemchuen
Costume Designer: Chaiwichit Somoboon
Starring: Chartchai Ngamsan, Stella Malucchi, Supakorn Kitsuwon, Sombat Metanee, and Arawat Ruangvuth