2002 was a good year for Thai cinema. Two Thai films
were selected for Cannes - Penek Ratanaruang’s Monrak
Transistor became the first Thai film to play in the
Directors’ Fortnight, while independent director
Apichatpong Weerasethakul became a national hero with
the unexpected selection of Blissfully Yours for Un Certain
Regard. Earlier this year, One-Night Husband, by
Pimpaka, one of two new female Thai directors, premiered
in Berlin.
At home, 2002 saw the industry transition towards the
boom of domestic films that is occurring this year. 2001
saw only 15 Thai movies released, although these garnered
30% of the overall market share. Last year, local
releases increased to 22 films but the share dropped to
23%.
This year, 60 productions are slated for release. So far,
so good. In the first three months, Thai films performed
so well that six titles were released in the same week,
unusual since the arrival of multiplexing in 1994. Local
productions outgrossed most foreign films except The
Two Towers. Kickboxing actioner Ong-Bak has unexpectedly
taken in US$2.20 million and Old Rock Man took
US$1.80 million in three weeks. Further encouragement
came from the performance of GMM Pictures’ second
production February, which grossed US$1.10 million in
just nine days.
All of the six major studios in Thailand have started new
productions. The most impressive lineup is from Mongkol
Cinema, which has interests in production, distribution
and exhibition. They have also imported both non-major
Hollywood and foreign films into the territory. Their power
is set to increase now that their owner has been voted a
director of the Federation of Thai Film Producers.
Entertainment moguls RS Film & Distribution, which have
interests in music, TV series, and movies, reaped a
bonanza from Thai films. Two years ago, the company
diversified its production section into three subsidiaries.
This year, it expanded to seven. Meanwhile, smaller producers
like GMM Pictures, Tai Entertainment, and Film
Bangkok, have each planned to release more than four
titles.
Beyond these household names, there are many other
independent producers and new investors trying to cashin
on the film boom.These include a real-estate company
and an entertainment software dealer. The latter was not
welcomed by local exhibitors because of its involvement
with pirate music and movies. It ended-up releasing its
film for one week in a hotel in Bangkok, before rolling out
DVD and video versions.
Genres were diverse in 2002, incuding action, horror,
comedy, and period drama. Horror films were the most
popular. Last year, 7 out of 22 titles were horror flicks,
and there are more to come. Transvestite films have also
been well-received, following the box office success of
Iron Ladies a few years ago. Four transvestite titles have
been released. These include Iron Ladies, the Early
Years, a sequel to Iron Ladies; Saving Private Tootsie, the
story of military group who are assigned to help a group
of transvestites; the lives of transvestite cheerleaders in
I’m Lady; and a real-life biography of a transvestite boxer
in Beautiful Boxer.
One of the most talked-about films was the first local Thai
kickboxing film Ong-Bak. Unfortunately, its storyline was
naive and shallow. A northeastern kickboxing expert travels
to Bangkok to track down the thief who steals a
sacred statue called Ong-Bak. He employs a traditional Muay Thai martial artists to conquer his many adversaries.
It’s a spectacle of indigenous Thai martial arts
without noisy digital effects. The actor Bhanom Yeerum
himself is a former stuntman in Thai movies and a topnotch
martial artist.
Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol remade his 1976 movie The
Last Love, a story of a divorced female artist who
encounters social antagonism when she falls in love with
a younger man. The story was deemed out-of-date by
contemporary audiences.
Another romance - February, directed Yuthlert Sippapak -
was very well received. February is a love story between
a man and a woman who meet in New York. Then she
loses her memory, but destiny plays trick on their lives. It
was a hit with the younger viewers which The Last Love
failed to attract - an example of the generation gap in
action.
Despite the boom in local production, it is still difficult to
find arthouse movies. Nobody can deny that newcomers
have been given more opportunities than ever before.
But most of them have to agree to make a certain type
of movie. Investors demand either horror or comedy.
Problems arise because these young filmmakers can’t
seem to approach commercial films creatively. Much of
their work suffers from uneven narrative and irrational
scripts.
Nevertheless, there are two works that succeed on an
arthouse level. One-Night Husband is a suspenser about
a young woman who finds out the truth about her husband
when he disappears on their wedding night. It’s a
mystery drama, but director Pimpaka uses an experimental
style. Her debut feature launches an attack on standard
narrative form. Some scenes are shot in long distance
for up to four minutes, or show characters from the
back during emotional scenes. Unfortunately, this means
you can’t always see what is going on.
Penek Ratanaruang’s fourth feature Last Life in the
Universe is highly anticipated, and hopefully, will be the
first Thai film to compete at a major international film festival.
The production is the talk of the town. It is a coproduction
between France, Japan, Netherlands,
Singapore and Thailand, with Australian cinematographer
Christopher Doyle and Japanese actor Asano Tadanobu.
The story focusses on a Japanese man who wants to kill
himself after an unintentional murder of a yakuza.
It seems to have taken Thai filmmakers a long time to
master the art of creative film language. It’s no surprise
that, in its 105 years of cinema history, there have not
been any Thai films in official competition at Cannes,
Venice, or Berlin. Here’s hoping that Last Life in the
Universe changes that.
Anchalee Chaiworaporn