Chcolate

Chocolate is a 2008 Thai martial arts
film directed by Prachya Pinkaew with
martial arts choreography by Panna
Rittikrai, the same pair who directed
Tony Jaa in Ong-Bak and Tom Yum Goong.
The star of Chocolate is Yanin “Jeeja”
Vismistananda, who makes her debut
film performance. Hiroshi Abe and
Pongpat Wachirabunjong also star.
A young autistic woman named Zen
(Yanin Vismistananda) has developed
uncanny martial arts skills by
watching television, and from living
next door to a Muay Thai academy.
The girl is the daughter of Zin
(Ammara Siripong), the Thai wife of
Yakuza boss Masashi (Hiroshi Abe). Zin
was previously the girlfriend of Thai
gangster No. 8 (Pongpat
Wachirabunjong), who was jealous of
her relationship with rival gangster
Masashi, so he cut off one of Zin’s
toes, and forbade her from seeing
Masashi.
Zin then falls ill with cancer, and
does not have the money to pay for
treatments. One day, Zen’s friend
discovers a list of debtors in an old
notebook, from the days when Zin was a
high-interest moneylender under No. 8.
In order to get money to pay for her
mother’s cancer treatment, Zen decides
to collect on the debts, which leads
to confrontations with various
criminal gangs and, eventually, No. 8.
The star of Chocolate, Yanin
Vismistananda, was discovered by
director Prachya Pinkaew in 2003 when
the director was working on casting
sessions for Panna Rittikrai’s
directorial effort, Born to Fight.
Already experienced in taekwondo,
Yanin underwent more training with
Panna Rittikrai’s stunt team.
The script for Chocolate was then
developed with Yanin in mind. The film
was in production during 2006 and
2007, with promotional efforts
including a cast appearance at the
Bangkok Film Market during the 2007
Bangkok International Film Festival in
July.