Chocolate (2008)
Magnet Releasing
“Jija” Yanin Vismistananda in the 2008 film “Chocolate,” directed by Prachya Pinkaew.
Portrait of a Martial Artist
By NATHAN LEE
“Chocolate” is dedicated to “the unconditional love given to all the special children in the world,” which is a cheeky way to kick off a movie about a little girl with a gift, very special indeed, for kicking grown men in the face.
It’s true that Zen (Jija Yanin Vismitananda), born to a humble Thai woman and a Japanese gangster, exhibits behaviors that suggest autism, or at least some poorly acted simulation of it: abnormal shyness, primitive syntax, rocking back and forth, an extreme aversion to houseflies.
Fortunately, she has been endowed with a natural mastery of the martial arts, much of which she appears to absorb by watching “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior” on television.