|
|
 |
Thai Cinema Ready to Roll
With the Cannes film festival's prestigious Jury Prize given to one
of their own, a new generation of Thai filmmakers are on the brink of a
cultural renaissance.
By Andrew Lam, Pacific News Service
BANGKOK, Thailand - June 3, 2004 - For years, at any given time of
day, a visitor to the famous Siam Square in Bangkok could find a dozen
Hollywood movies available for viewing. But lately, those American films
have gotten some serious, home-grown competition.
Next to billboards promoting "Van Helsing," "Troy" and "Shrek 2" are
films that, though most Americans will likely never see them, have
gotten Thai audiences talking. There's "Garuda," a monster-action movie
about a mythical bird that causes havoc in Bangkok when a subway-digging
crew accidentally unearths it. In "102," as in Hollywood's "Ocean's 11,"
a group of bank robbers uses sophisticated technology to perform their
heists. "I-Fak" (The Judgment) is a tragedy about an unusual but
platonic friendship between a half-mad young widow and her stepson.
"Siam Renaissance" explores time travel and ends up commenting on the
power of colonization.
Until recently, homegrown Thai entertainment resigned itself to
television sitcoms and soap operas. Hollywood dominated the silver
screen, and Thai movies were far and few in between.
But all that is changing. Hong Kong's movie industry may be shrinking
in size, its many talents migrating to Hollywood, but Seoul, Beijing,
and now Bangkok are fast becoming East Asian movie powerhouses. More and
more Thai movies are being shown abroad -- the latest being "Iron
Ladies" and "Beautiful Boxer." The former, about a group of gay
volleyball players, has even produced a sequel (Iron Ladies II), and the
latter, about a transsexual professional kick boxer have garnered rave
reviews overseas. Many American distributors, according to
NotesfromHollywood.com, are actively looking to buy Thai movies for
art-house distributions.
It doesn't hurt, of course, that the recent avant-garde film "Tropical
Malady," a two-part tale by Apichatpong Weerasethakul featuring gay
romance and a night jungle trek on the trail of a mythical tiger, won
the Cannes 2004 Jury Prize, the first of such awards for a Thai film.
Bobbie Wong, deputy director of Kantana film studio, the largest movie
studio in Thailand, with over 1,000 employees, says that the Thai film
industry has been given a boost thanks to new technologies. "We have the
latest equipment, everything Hollywood has. Production is improving
steadily in the last 10 years." Wong, who hails from Hong Kong, brings
to Thailand technological know-how from the Hong Kong film industry, as
well as contacts to overseas producers. Hong Kong's loss, he says, is
Thailand's gain: many talented movie makers who don't go to Hollywood
end up here.
 Surapong
Pinijkhar, 37, director of "Siam Renaissance," says more young Thais are
making movies, spurred on by the knowledge that their films have a
chance of being seen outside of Thailand. And with new computer graphic
technology, Thai movies are getting as competitive as any international
film, he says.
"Siam Renaissance," which was made for around $1 million, was helped
by Kantana studio's computer-generated graphics for its time travel
sequences and its futuristic renderings of Bangkok. It's Pinijkhar's
first movie and his own version of "The King and I," he says.
Pinijkhar says Thailand's film industry, with about 50 movies made a
year, is still fledgling.
The industry is not without its critics. Kittisak Suwannabhokin, who
teaches film directing at Bangkok University, says, "Thailand movies are
getting to be known overseas for their gay characters, but there are
more subject matters that we deal with than that." But he quickly adds
that any international recognition is better than none.
Thai movies are becoming well-known internationally due in large part
to the country's increasingly popular Thai Film Festival, which for the
last six years has enabled many local and international filmmakers to
showcase their work to international distributors.
Pantham Thongsang, 39, who made "I-Fak," says he is cautiously
optimistic about the industry's future. More young filmmakers are making
movies that are social commentaries on contemporary life in Thailand, he
says, but "you have to balance between entertainment and social
messages. If you don't do well at the box office, you don't make another
film."
Kittisak says the industry was given a boost when the Thai government
decided to actively promote Thailand as an ideal location to shoot a
film -- "Alexander the Great," starring Colin Farrell, was recently
filmed here -- and when it began promoting its international film
festival. But Thailand, he says, got into the game late and is trying to
catch up. "Korea, for instance, has gotten government backing for its
film industry for a long time now. So have the French. And that really
helps their artists."
In the meanwhile, Apichatpong, director of "Tropical Malady," humbly
tells journalists, "My film is so personal I'm not sure how well it will
travel. But I hope this will encourage other Thai filmmakers."
But personal vision is what makes Thailand stand out. And with the
Cannes Jury Prize in Apichatpong's pocket, his film has not only
traveled well, but also officially announced the Thai film industry's
coming of age.
|
