Kiltro is a martial arts flick made in Chile from 2005 starring the man behind Dolor (from Undisputed 3) – Marko Zaror.
Zaror plays Zamir, a tough kid on the streets who has an almost obsessive love with a girl named Kim. Kim gave him a ‘thank you kiss’ once after Zamir saved her from rapists, ever since then Zamir has been unable to stop thinking about her. Zamir is so driven by his passion for Kim, he’ll fight anyone who dares to go near her, and he usually wins!
Things escalate though when a man named Max Kalba comes to town looking for Kim’s father, and attacks him at his school. He turns to Kim just as Zamir walks in, to which he tells the man “you hurt her and you’re dead, mother fucker!” – Zamir then gets taken out by Max almost effortlessly.
Zamir and Kim then escape with Dwarf named NikNak, who reveals a little about their pasts. Zamir is the son of a man form the same sect as Max Kalba, his father who was killed many years ago. It also turns out the Max was in love with Kim’s mother, but when Kim was born he was astonished at the Asian look of the baby and realized that he was not the father. Kim’s mother tried to leave Max but was unable and eventually killed herself.
Now Max wants to kill everyone linked to the Sect, and ends up finding Kim and kidnapping her. Zamir is taken away to train in Zeta martial arts so he can return to defeat Max Kalba and rescue Kim and her father.
Marko Zaror’s character Zamir
Zamir is quite the strange character for a hero. He has a bit of psycho stalker in him and is at the point where Kim is over having to deal with his obsessive nature.
He claims that he is in love, while others tell him it is merely obsession, this becomes such a huge drive for him in the film. His memory is even wiped so he can ’empty his cup’ and become a better warrior, yet still he wakes up in the morning saying Kim’s name.
His development into a better fighter seems to mirror his maturity as a character, as at the end of the film he knows he must not stay with Kim but go on his own path – a sign that the obsession is over. This naive nature he shows in the movie creates an interesting situation to view, and it doesn’t even seem like an action film until Max Kalba arrives in town.
Marko Zaror’s acting ability really shines through as Zamir, he did an excellent job in this movie.
The Action and Martial Arts
The real reason I watched the movie – the action!
The first thing I noticed was the style getting visually ‘neater’ after his Zamir’s training. He fights well but a little sloppy, off balance and relies on big sweeping hits. After his training though he becomes a ferocious weapon, moving quickly and precisely, really showing off Zaror’s talent.
The facepaint and warrior’s outfit really added an awesome visual element to the fights – showing tradition and skill beyond that of a street thug and more like an experienced warrior. What was really cool is the blades on the heels of Zamir’s shoes, which he uses to viciously cut up his opponents; usually slicing their necks open. Violent but extremely well done if you can look past the very digital looking blood splatter.
This movie has excellent action, but it’s mostly at the end of the story. So I’d sit back enjoy the story before seeing Zaror in action doing an awesome job – showing off his magnificent martial arts ability.
The Verdict?
Not bad, worth checking out for sure! It will never be one of the all time greats, but it’ll always be a classic.
On DVD –
Region 1 (US & Canada)
Kiltro on DVD
Region 2 (UK, Europe, etc)
Kiltro on DVD
Region 4 (Australia, New Zealand, etc)
– no luck! Go region free!
