10 Incredible Asian Action Movies You Have To See Before You Die

From: Thailand

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

Chocolate was the film debut of Thai martial artist Yanin Mitananda, a Taekwondo expert who was spotted by director Prachya Pinkaew and turned into a movie star in their native country. Pinkaew cast her as Chocolate's lead character Zen, an autistic young woman with an insatiable hunger for chocolate and the ability to kick the asses of men twice her size.

After her Yakuza-boss lover was forced to leave Korea without ever knowing that she was pregnant, Zen's mother moved into a house shared by a Muay Thai gym, and her daughter grew up mimicking, and sometimes embarrassing the other fighters. When Zen's mother is diagnosed with cancer, her only hope of getting the money together to afford the treatment is her daughter, who - fueled with her favourite chocolate - takes it upon herself to collect the debts owed to her parents.

Described by Rotten Tomatoes Top Critic Jim Ridley as a Thai-language hybrid of Kill Bill and Rain Man, Chocolate is a bizarre martial arts flick with an unusual yet deeply endearing protagonist capable of performing breathtaking stunts. The action takes a little while to get going, but once it does it leaves your jaw agape for the remainder - the whole thing begins to feel like an exhibition of Mitananda's skills, and the film doesn't suffer for it.