Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya’

Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya (in Thai, «ÒÁÙäà Íâ¸ÂÒ) is a Thai action/drama/war movie released in Thailand on December 2, 2010 to celebrate the 127th anniversary of Thai-Japanese diplomatic relations. The movie was directed by Nopporn Watin, who also organized the international muay thai tournaments which recently took place in Bangkok. The movie is based on a true historical figure of the Ayothaya (also/nowadays spelled Ayutthaya) period, Yamada Nagamasa, a Japanese adventurer who made a name for himself at the court of the Siamese king in the 17th century.

Yamada has a beautiful story line based on the characters’ love of their mother land and king, but it is also a very violent movie, with plenty of blood and decapitations. The movie is a “linguistic marvel,” with alternating dialogues in both Thai and Japanese, plus English and Thai subtitles. During one hour and thirty minutes, you can enjoy some of the most realistic muay thai / muay boran techniques that have been shown on the big screen in quite a long time.