Internationally speaking, two Thai films - Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior and Tropical Malady - made phenomenal achievements in 2004. Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior was picked-up by Luc Besson’s Eurocorp for distribution in the US, Europe and Australia. The film performed well everywhere it played. In France, it went to number two in its second week of release. It went on to create a big buzz in the US, where it was released in 387 theatres. At home, Tony Jaa was reported to have become a Hollywood darling, and was said to have been approached by several big names including Tom Cruise and John Woo.
Ong Bak expanded on the breakthroughs made by Iron Ladies in the international market a few years earlier. It was liked from South Korea to France to the US - Iron Ladies only hit big in Hong Kong and Japan. Ong Bak’s global boom makes a sequel a must. This time, it contains even more Thai exoticism. The title says it all: Tom Yum Goong. The country’s national soup will invade Australia, and Tony Jaa rushes to save his sister from the local Mafia. A Cannes premiere is planned - probably not in the Palais du Festival, but in the market.
Tropical Malady, by Apichatphong Weerasethakul, did well with the art-house crowd. It was the first Thai film to screen in Cannes’ official selection, and also the first to win a Special Jury Prize. Not surprisingly, its success was exploited by local filmmakers to get government funding. At home, Tropical Malady did not receive the same loving attention as abroad. The film was released in just a few theatres during the European Cup football matches - a bad time-slot for distribution. The film didn’t get nominated for any local awards, even for a critic’s prize. The director snagged only one award from the Federation of National Film Association of Thailand, for his dedicated attempts to boost the image of the country.
Thai films made a lot of noise internationally in 2004. But domestically, it was a sleepy year. Productions spooled out at about the same rate as the previous year: 48 titles including three that opened after Christmas 2003. Annual Thai film grosses fell a little to US$ 20 million from US$22 million in 2003. Insiders started to complain about the sluggish momentum of the Thai film industry. But all this actually helped Thai cinema to move forward.
Gone were the bad comedies with cheap jokes. Gone were the cheap spooky movies. Though horror and comedy still flooded theatres, they weren’t sure-fire successes anymore. This had a positive outcome. There is now much more variety: romance, epics, dramas, thrillers, and adventure movies are all competing for audiences on a level playing field. The top five box-office movies prove this. The biggest hit, The Shutter is a horror, followed by the action comedy The Bodyguard, the epic drama The Overture, the half-comedy-half-slapstick Pattaya Maniac, and the romance The Letter. The one thing that these films have in common is that they all try something new.
The Shutter features many characteristics of 2003’s My Girl. Both were directed by a group of young first-time directors - two for The Shutter and six for My Girl. They all belong to the new generation of filmmakers who have broken with tradition. They have all made shorts and been involved in the independent scene before. So they know how to tell a story with cinematic language. For their debuts, they employed their cinematic know-how to make commercial films. With all that going for them, good box office was not out of reach.
In The Shutter, Pakpoom Wongpoom and Banjong Pisanthanakul used the arts of photography and lighting to invoke the well-known ghost photographs that have long scared Thai people. These pictures show human-like shadows or light reflections which form the images of normal people. This kind of story often makes the front page. The Shutter details a photographer and his girlfriend’s encounter with such unexpected images. It all starts with a strange light and shadows which appear in his photos. He later learns that the spirits just want to tell him something.
The Bodyguard turns the Thai boxing martial arts phenomenon into a comedy. The Overture is known as the film that was rescued by the public after an initial flop. The story revolves around the life of a traditional Thai music master and his conquest of his profession and politics. The Letter is a melodrama strengthened by the performance of two leading actors.
Pattaya Maniac plays with the role-switching of the two leading actors. The protagonist is a popular comedian who previously took the supporting role. Somchai Khemglad, who plays his best friend, is a big movie star and singer. As Tun and Tao, the two best friends have nothing in common. Tun is an expert in examining Buddha images while Tao is crazy about football gambling. One day Tun gets a crush on a young girl and gives US$2,500 to her agent to bring her to him. But Tao wants this money to pay for his gambling. Then the chaos starts.
The new generation is coming to the forefront of Thai cinema in both mainstream and independent sectors. Both My Girl and The Shutter opened doors for young filmmakers. Even student thesis films like My Space were commercially funded by Sahamongkol Film and released. Many times, however, the new-generations are taken advantage of by studios who give them with a strictly-controlled low budget. The horror Pisaj (Evil) is an example. It was made for US$125,000. Producers also keep a strong hold on the creative aspects of some genres, especially horror.
Because of this, many young filmmakers decided to follow their hero Apichaphong Weerasethakul into independent films. Female director Pimpaka Tohveera is a good example. After trying her directorial debut One Night Husband with the studio Grammy Pictures, which merged to form GMM Tai Hub (GTH), she went her own way with a documentary about a Thai female activist. The prosperity of the Thai independent inspired the studio GMM Pictures to open a niche market division known as TIFA, or Thai Independent Filmmaker Alliance. But, aside from the Apichatphong’s Tropical Malady after it was officially listed in Cannes competition, TIFA’s projects didn’t really take any risks.
Most studios still prefer to make high-budget films and hope for huge returns. In September, RS Film announced ten projects, two of which, Bangkok Loco and Sagai United, had disappointing outcomes. The remaining eight titles relied largely on spectacle (The Necromancer), female martial arts (The Bullet Wife), female football players (Match Point), teen comedy (Ahingsa), action (Thai Thief), and fantasy (Ocean Butterfly).
Women rushed into the industry last year. Since 2003, there have been twelve women who tried their hands at directing. They come from different backgrounds, from film graduates to a high-class lady and former Miss Thailand, and make a variety of styles, from genre movies to experimental films. Though many of them may not stay in the industry, they have made some films that are rich in cinematic language.
Zee-Oui is one of these works. It was made by two veteran TV commercial directors, Nida Sudasna Ayudhaya and Buranee Rachaiboon. They decided to make their directorial debut about a cannibalistic serial-killer Zee-Oui. This was based on a real-life case of a Chinese migrant who killed seven children and devoured their hearts. Chinese actor Duan Long plays the lead role, while the script was penned by Debra Katemeyer.
Several new production houses were opened in 2004, most of which were owned by veteran directors like Thanit Jitnukul, Manob Udomdej, or Nopphorn Wathin. But these companies usually worked under the auspices of their mother studios, and so played it safe. Only Thanit Jitnukul pitches his projects to different studios. Thanit is the most active director at the moment. Since June 2004, he has made three movies involving a variety of genres - horror in Art of the Devil, action in 102 Bangkok Robbery and comedy in Andaman Girl.
Thai cinema will be more exciting in the year to come. The next projects from big names like Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Apichatphong Weerasethakul, Nonzee Nimibutr, and the eight young heroes who made My Girl and The Shutter, are in the works. Also, don’t forget Ong Bak’s sequel, Tom Yum Goong, which promises to be exciting viewing.