I’ll try and track them down (here in the UK, before LoveFilm was bought out by sodding Amazon and blew their entire sodding budget on Dumbo + co, they curated an eclectic mix of cheaply licensed films from all over - I can picture the roving John Cusack / Rob Gordon characters taking paid trips out East) -
But Thailand, Korea (not the Norks), Indonesia, Philippines so far. Sri Lanka and India have a bunch too, but I find them a bit dripping in hero worship; whereas the more SE Asian versions emphasise tough simple heroics.
They have incredibly talented martial artists, make the California Crew look a little silly (though JCVD would doubtlessly dominate). They’ve synthesised everything they grew up on - Bruce, Jackie, all the Hong Kong bunch, the lot, into a really on-screen effective form of dopamine.
So you guys know the scene I’m talking about??
Edit: Merantau Warrior, see http://mubi.com/lists/indonesian-martial-arts-cinema and I’m guessing it has other countries too
