NYAFF 2026: 4 TIGERS

The 25th anniversary New York Asian Film Festival takes place from July 10th to July 26th. For details and showtimes, click here.

Now we’re talking!

4 Tigers is exactly the type of movie that made me such a fan of NYAFF to begin with, a rollicking piece of entertainment that in the best Asian cinematic tradition throws 1,000 things at the wall in the hopes of giving the crowd something they didn’t know they wanted… and succeeding beyond all reason. Director Kongkiat Komesiri, his three co-screenwriters, his fantastic cast and his superstar crew should be commended what they’ve done here; it’s some of the most fun I’ve had at the movies in quite some time.

The film takes place in Thailand in the aftermath of World War II, where various interests are jockeying to establish themselves as the masters of the post-war order. In the current running the most ascendant figure is one field Marshall Lert (Phollawat Manuprasert, twirling the mustache expertly), a ruthless aspiring dictator presents a benevolent and noble face to the masses while harboring dreams of conquest. The sense of threat he represents is such that a bounty of 1 million baht is placed on his head. To that end Rosarin (Mashannoad Swalmas), an up-and-coming actress with a sideline in spycraft (or is it vice versa?) uses her position as part of Lerts’ propaganda wing to covertly engineer his downfall. She recruits Bandit Bai (Arak Amornsupasiri), with whom she has an entangled romantic history, to do the job. But she also puts an offer out to Bandit Dum (Phakhin Khamwhilaisak), who is optimistic for an entangled romantic present, to do the job. And on top of all that, Rosarin is being followed by a reporter named Mahesuan (Mario Maurer), who also takes an interest in her, though it’s one that is decidedly less than romantic. He forces his way into the gig for reasons of his own, and just like that you’ve got the titular 3 Tigers.

…. Wait. That can’t be right.

The first 30 minutes of the film through a lot at you, and at a breathless pace a lot of characters, various organizations they represent, with various ensuing agendas, clarkson counter plots, backstory… It’s quite a lot to take in. So let us start the first of many accolades here: There’s a lot going on, but Komesiri and his fellow screenwriters Sukosin Akkrapat, Kritmongkon Peantong, Nakarin Gakhan never take their eyes off the ball. You may forget some finer details here or there, at no point do you ever get lost as to what’s happening, what the characters want, or what the stakes are. It’s nowhere near economical storytelling, but it is focused and effective.

That steady hand is vital to the success of the film, but is ultimately nly half the story; the other half is that Komesiri’s ambitions lie past the plotting, into the actual making of the film itself; this is a movie that is practically punch-drunk with the possibilities of cinema… to the point where it’s not just one movie.

It’s every movie.

It’s a historical epic! It’s a spy thriller! It’s a war movie! It’s a slapstick comedy! It’s a political thriller! It’s a western! It’s got a couple of honest to god fully choreographed music sequences! It’s even got a bit of horror in there!

And did I mention that each of our heroes and villains is gifted with a magical power they can use in battle?

That’s right, it’s also a superhero movie.

(would that Hollywood studios made them at this level of quality anymore…)

And miraculously at no point does this feel uneven or chaotic; the mastery of tone is something to behold.

There is simply too much to rave about here and I have much more festival to cover; miles to go before I sleep and all that. And so perhaps it’s best that I start to bring this thing in for a landing, lest we find ourselves deep in the on this one. I mean, I’m generally not one to spend time discussing tech credits but when you find yourself deleting a whole paragraph dedicated just to the freaking costume designer (Nirachara Wannalai, responsible for some Next Level Fits ), it’s time to call it a night.

With any luck this will be one of the films from the festival that gets a release outside the festival so I can revisit and actually go into more detail about just how fun a ride the audience is in for, and the artistry behind the camera that elevates it exponentially.

…Hell, all that and I didn’t even get around to mentioning the fourth Tiger.

But for now, if you’re a fan of Asian genre cinema, do yourself a favor and seek out 4 Tigers any which way as you can. You won’t regret it. And if you do, you are quite simply wrong.