''Les fils du vent'' ("The Sons of the Wind", also known as ''The Great Challenge'' and ''Sons of the Wind: Bangkok Ninjas'') is a 2004 French

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

featuring the

Yamakasi The Yamakasi ( ln, ya makási) are the original group of '' l'art du deplacement'' (parkour) practitioners from Lisses, France. The nine original members were David Belle, Sébastien Foucan, Châu Belle Dinh, Williams Belle, Yann Hnautra, Lau ...

. It is a semi-sequel to the

Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films ''Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the ' ...

–produced 2001 film ''

''.

Plot

Six parkour adepts (the

without Châu Belle Dinh) open a gym in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. When the new gym starts to attract the area's kids, a local

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

feels challenged. Their

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

leader Kien (Châu Belle Dinh) attacks the foreigners while they are training on a

scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely used ...

. The groups battle until police arrive; both groups barely escape. Logan (Charles Perrière) runs into Kien's only sibling, his sister Tsu (Élodie Yung). Logan and Tsu feel a mutual attraction. Following the fight the group splits up. Only Léo (Laurent Piemontesi) and Yaguy (Guylain N'Guba-Boyeke) still stick to the plan of establishing the gym, and Léo overcomes the prejudice of antisemitism against him. Williams (played by Williams Belle) departs to visit his grandfather in an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

. Lukas (Yann Hnautra) wants to return home to fix his marriage. Kenjee (Malik Diouf) attends a local Muay Thai school. Logan is preoccupied with Tsu. Tsu is tired of being a criminal. She is anxious that either the Triads or the

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

will eventually kill her and her brother. But her brother Kien is determined to get back at the Triad that refused them because of their French mother. He and his gang believe they can have a future only by serving the Yakuza. Their contact to the Yakuza is Kitano (Santi Sudaros), the Japanese son-in-law of Triad boss Wong (

Burt Kwouk Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, (; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor, known for his role as Cato in the ''Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Ma ...

). Kitano has convinced his father-in-law that he had broken up with his Yakuza family, but Wong still doesn't trust him. Kitano commissions Kien to

kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

Wong's little son. Tsu objects to this and saves the heir by disclosing Kitano's double game to Wong. In revenge, Kitano abducts Tsu and blackmails Kien to turn himself in to the Yakuza. Kien is ordered to a derelict industrial premises. Logan, Kenjee, Yann, Yaguy, Léo and Williams arrive on time to free Tsu. But when they do, Wong appears with a great many Triad members and confronts the Yakuza. Logan, Tsu, Kien, and the other

traceur Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...

s find themselves in the middle of a ferocious battle that they must fight their way out of.

Cast

* Châu Belle Dinh as ''Kien'' * Charles Perrière as ''Logan'' * Guylain N'Guba Boyeke as ''Yaguy'' * Laurent Piemontesi as ''Léo'' * Malik Diouf as ''Kenjee'' * Williams Belle as ''Williams'' * Yann Hnautra as ''Lucas'' *

Élodie Yung Élodie Yung (; born 22 February 1981) is a French actress. She is best known for her role as Elektra Natchios in the 2016 second season of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Netflix series ''Daredevil'' and the 2017 Netflix miniseries '' The Def ...

as ''Tsu'' * Santi Sudaros as ''Kitano'' *

as ''Wong''

DVD release

The film was released for English-speaking countries in 2006 and under a different title (''The Great Challenge'') again in 2010.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fils du Vent, Les 2004 films French action films 2000s French-language films Parkour in film Triad films Yakuza films Films directed by Julien Seri 2000s French films