The local media proclaimed the decline of Thai cinema in 2015, as they always do. Box office continued to fall, and inexperienced producers tried to draw crowds by making headlines so that audiences would rush to see their work out of curiosity. But in spite of all this, the year was full of fresh ideas, diversity, and fluidity. Fresh faces – including women and gays – arrived and offered new visions, both aesthetically and commercially. New festivals seem to be appearing each month. Genres are diversifying, and even documentaries have found their place. Audiences have never had such a variety of choice.
If 2014 was the year of the Thai cinematic bubble, 2015 was a time of improvement, although this might take a few years to become truly evident. Local releases decreased from 67 to 57 titles, most of which came from newcomers. Studios produced only a few titles – no more or less than their independent fellows. Even the most productive studio, Sahamongkol Film, reduced production from two titles each month to nine for the whole year. The rest – Gmm Tai Hub, Five Star Production, M Thirty-nine, the newly-opened Transformation Films, and Mono Films, made bteween one and three movies. All the studios became very selective, and hesitated to bring in new investment. Production budgets declined, as local productions were always considered to be too high-risk, and the stars can’t draw audiences like they used to. Studios also had to factor in that audiences have become much more selective, and critical, in their viewing.
Under these circumstances, the only way to survive was by improving quality. M-Thirtynine is a clear example of this. A former producer of popular – sometimes foolish – blockbusters, the studio flung open its arms to veteran director Wisit Sasanatieng, who hadn’t made a film for five years, for the horror Senior. Sasanatieng’s fifth work in was in a creative, humourous, hybrid style. A high-school girl, Mon, has a sixth sense and can find ghosts ghost by smelling – like a dog sneezing. Friends think she’s a psychopath who talks to herself. But in Mon's interior world, she is followed by an invisible guy, the Senior. The duo encounters many strange incidents and see several ghosts in the school, so they decide to pair up and investigate several mysterious deaths and murder. Sasanatieng challenges audiences by creating new kinds of ghosts, and shows his creativity by mixing arthouse and popular styles in an innovative way.
Like Andy Warhol, Sasanatieng has long been known as a man of high and low culture. Many new young faces have followed suit. Among of them, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit became the most controversial and successful young filmmaker to cross from arthouse to popular cinema. Well-known as a young and trendy writer, the self-taught Thamrongrattanarit started his directorial career by making experimental shorts. As a young writer, he was also asked by GTG to join the script team, as their films were targeted at a similar young urban audiences.
When he wanted to make his debut 36 (2012), Thamrongrattanarit used his own money. With the help of arthouse producers Soros Sukhum and Aditya Assarat, 36 won a prize at Busan. His second feature Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy (2013) was funded by the Biennale College cinema. Both works were sleeper hits, doing well on limited release in Bangkok and the countryside. As a popular young writer, Thamrongrattanarit always draws young crowds to whatever he does. So GTH did not hesitate to invite him to join the company, and make his third feature, Heart Attack (2015).
Inspired perhaps from his own experience as a freelancer, Heart Attack follows the life of a graphic designer who is advised by a dermatologist to change his workaholic habits to cure his skin-rash disease. He does as he’s told, but finds he can’t meet his deadlines. Thamrongrattanarit employs an alternative filmmaking style – naturalistic acting, long shots, and a hand-held camera – in a romantic comedy. This was challenging for the studio, which is long known for mainstream its feel-good films.
But the gamble worked, and Heart Attack became the second highest earner of the year, reaping more than EU2.2 million, and sweeping several local awards.
Immediately after Heart Attack, GTH released May Who?, the second feature from young director Chayanop Boonprakob (Suck Seed, 2011). This had been shelved in 2015 due to scandals around its lead actress Narikun Ketprapakorn. GTH fans were happy with the return to the regular style of the company, and the film came in third at the box office, taking EU1.8 million. May Who? was applauded by critics for its excellent casting, concise script, and fast-paced editing, and was nominated in all the local awards.
Other first-time directors also marched into the industry, blending artistic styles with genre films. Indie Korean director Josh Kim developed his short Draft Day into his feature-length debut How to Win at Checkers (2015). The film was submitted to represent Thailand in the Academy Awards for best foreign film, and was shown in Udine last year.
Another newcomer, Anucha Boonyawatana, employed slow editing and meticulous cinematography in his first gay horror. The Blue Hour portrays the lives of two young gays who wander around deserted places, and are involved the murder of their own families. Boonyawatana took the story from several local homicides in Thailand, and depicts it into a film that’s both dreamlike and realistic. When newcomers work together as a team, the outcome can be unpredictable. Grace was so controversial that two versions were released – one for 18+ and one for 20-year-olds. Kulp Kaljaruek, officially produced it; the directorial duo Pun Homchuen and Onusa Donsawai developed the project from a short film. Grace looks at the popular habits of Thai teenagers who love to share their private lives on social media and get ‘likes.’
The fresh faces also included six female directors. Kanittha Kwanyoo became the most successful female director last year due to the scandalous censorship problem of her Buddhist horror Arpat. The movie tells the story of the novice Sun, who is forced to be ordained. He can't let go of his human desire, and tracks down his ex-girlfriend, before falling in love with a girl who lives next to the temple. The young monk also encounters many strange people– a madman, a suffering abbot, and a mysterious senior monk who appears in the night and helps him. Arbat was banned by a religious group due to the character’s activities.
Later, several scenes were deleted, and the title was changed. Audiences then rushed to see the film, and it took fourth place in the box-office.
British expat Paul Spurrier tried his second Thai horror The Forest, following his feature P (2005). Shot on a shoestring budget, The Forest explores the lives of villagers in remote Thailand. A monk-turned-teacher comes to start his new life in a rural village, filled with hope and inspiration. He meets a mute girl who is bullied by the village headman's daughter, and makes friends with a boy in the forest. The Forest is a silent horror with beautiful cinematography and a deep exploration of kinship.
Some directors did well internationally with art films. Jakkrawal Nilthamrong finally released his experimental debut The Vanishing Point, after winning Rotterdam’s Tiger Award the year before. Based on an accident which still haunts him, Nilthamrong combines his personal history with Buddhism to make an experimental masterpiece. Similarly, Uruphong Raksasad released the final part of his agrarian documentary trilogy, Song of Rice (2015).
Veteran director Kongdej Jaturonrassamee released his seventh film, Snap, right after the premiere in Tokyo. Snap is easier to understand than his other works, and he felt an immediate local release would do well at the box-office. The film is about two ex-lovers who confront each other in at a wedding party. This leads to some nostalgia and some revelations. It’s a sweet portrayal of love in the time of Thailand’s army control.
Towards the end of 2015, GTH, the most successful studio, shocked the entire industry by shutting down, only to be re-established a month later. The G (Grammy Film) and H (Hub Ho Hin) shareholders set up a new company named GDH 559, in which some of the shares have been allocated to their directors and staff. The T (Tai Entertainment) is merged with a new entertainment mogul Monogroup, forming a new studio called T Moment.
The emergence of new directors, and the and return of some veterans, brought diversity. Horror and comedy are as popular as ever, but there was also drama, romance, animation, experimental, arthouse, and documentary. Some of these genres moved into areas like gay horror, horror comedy, romantic comedy, and gay animation. This has increased filmgoers’ choices.
Overall, the common thread in Thai cinema during the past two years has been diversified production by smaller companies.
The industry is now comprised of many fragmented groups, and studio productions sometimes don’t look that much different to independent productions. Several genres can be contained in one movie, and popular and arthouse cinemas have become mixed. The result is a very rich and satisfying time for Thai cinema.
Anchalee Chaiworaporn