Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Zen, an autistic teenage girl with powerful martial arts skills, gets money to pay for her sick mother Zin's treatment by seeking out all the people who owe Zin money and making them pay.
Chocolate earns standout Novelty for its genuinely singular premise — an autistic girl who absorbs martial arts by watching Bruce Lee films and Muay Thai practice, then applies that knowledge to debt collection for her ailing mother. JeeJa Yanin's physical performance is remarkable and largely self-taught, placing her in rarefied company alongside Tony Jaa (who produced). The action choreography is inventive and brutally practical, shot with functional but solid cinematography. The plot is thin and largely a vehicle for set pieces, and the emotional beats around the mother's illness are melodramatic rather than affecting. The ending delivers a satisfying if overwrought climax. Overall a cult gem that carved its own niche in the Muay Thai action revival.