Mayhem!

Released in France as Farang and abroad as Mayhem!, this is one of the few French action films built around Muay Thai. Director Xavier Gens, known for Frontier(s) and several episodes of Gangs of London, co-wrote it with Magali Rossitto, Guillaume Lemans and Stéphane Cabel. Farang is the Thai word for a Western foreigner, which is what Sam remains despite his years in the country.

A real fighter in the lead

Nassim Lyes, who plays Sam, did not learn to fight for the part. He started martial arts as a teenager, trains in Muay Thai and won a French kickboxing title at welterweight. It shows in his guard, his knees and his clinch work. His on-screen trainer Hansa is played by Vithaya Pansringarm, from Only God Forgives.

Jude Poyer's choreography

The fights were staged by Jude Poyer, a British fight choreographer and stunt coordinator who had worked with Gens on Gangs of London. He built them on Muay Thai (elbows, knees, neck clinch) and added karate and wrestling. The standout sequence takes place in a moving lift where Sam takes on several men at once: it took several days and hundreds of shots, and Lyes was briefly knocked out on one take after landing on a mat that was too hard. Practitioners will recognise realistic techniques, shot wide enough to follow the combinations.

Production and reception

Shooting ran from February to April 2022, a week in Paris and at Fresnes prison, then 35 days in Thailand, on a budget of around €5.4 million. It opened in France on 28 June 2023 and played genre festivals including Neuchâtel and Fantasia. French critics were split: Écran Large called it one of the best action films of the year, others found it brutal and by the book.