A defining feature of 2019 was the rise of alternative means of exhibition for local productions. This included the arrival of everything from arthouse theatres to Netflix channels. Such developments have finally increased the opportunities for local filmmakers – both commercial and independent – to access the domestic market, and they have also expanded the possibilities for filmmakers.
Nevertheless, it is not easy for any film director to work continuously, especially as so many people are making films. This became even more difficult due to the Covid-19 outbreak, which resulted in a lockdown and a curfew for almost three months – 17 March to 31 May 2020. All the theatres were shut, and all productions were halted. How this will affect the future of the film industry is yet to be seen.
Local productions in 2019 rose to 59 titles from 48 the previous year. But this figure includes the short and limited releases of minor works, some of which only had one daily screening for a week. Due to the increase of independent cinemas and art houses – five in Bangkok alone, which have 50 to 200 seats – there are more slots for both local and foreign movies. Even student works have access to distribution.
As expected, GDH remained the best performer of the year, building on its long history of quality works. Its three releases climbed up the annual box office list – Tootsies & The Fake (by Kittiphak Thonguam), Friend Zone (Chayanob Boonprakob) and Happy Old Year (Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit). Adapted from the hit TV series about the lives of a group of third-gender friends, Tootsies & The Fake details what happens when one them temporarily disables a Thai superstar. The film easily became the top-grossing Thai movie of the year.
Friend Zone, which came second in the year-end charts, tells of a love affair between two former best friends who must set their conflicts to rest. This simple story has rarely been addressed in a film. GDH calculated the film would do well in the Asian market and shot the movie in several countries in Asia to improve its chances.
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s seventh feature Happy Old Year dramatised the hidden pain felt by a young interior designer due to memories of an ex-boyfriend. The film’s detailed mise-en-scene and poetic dialogue divided the audience into two groups – those who loved it, and those who hated it. The conflicting critiques drew audiences who wanted to make up their own minds.
The most active company of the year was M Pictures, a distributor and production arm of Major Group, the biggest cinema operator in Thailand, which also operates in other Indochinese territories like Cambodia. Major Group co-invests in three production studios – M39, Transformation Film, and CJ Major. M Pictures sometimes co-produces good locally targeted movies like Khun Phaen Begin, the seventh feature of Kongkiat Komesiri, a director who will be familiar to followers of the FEFF. This is a remake of a Thai literary work about a love triangle, and the new interpretation, despite the casting of two first-time lead performers, caught the attention of local audiences and performed well as the box office.
M39 also produced some box office successes that were targeted at local audiences. The comedy Bikeman 2, directed by Prueksa Amaruji, follows the life of a young man who wants to be a banker, but has to survive by running a taxi-motorcycle service instead. On Zon De, by Theeradej Saphanyou, shows northeastern life and culture through the romantic conflicts of three male best friends. The urban drama Heartbeats (by Jate Boonyoprakarn) is about a forty-something workaholic who loses his wife and then meets a young girl who draws him into a new life. When he discovers she has been implanted with his wife’s heart, he runs away.
Major Group’s two other affiliates, Transformation Film and CJ Major, are renowned for their quality offerings, producing the work of veteran directors like Wisit Sasanatieng (Tears of the Black Tiger, 2000) and Nonzee Nimibutr (Nang Nak, 1999; Jandara, 2001). Sasanatieng exercised his creativity with Krasue: Inhuman Kiss (by Sittisiri Mongkolsiri), shown at FEFF 2019, while Nimibutr produced Tee Shot Ariya Jutanugarn (by Tanawat Iamjinda), a real-life biopic of female Thai golf champions who had been coached to success by her father.
CJ Major, a joint venture with South Korea’s CJ Entertainment, has also produced the work of well-known directors, but their films must sometimes be a remake of a South Korean title. After turning Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Miss Granny into Suddenly 20 (by Araya Suriharn, 2016), the company became more active two years ago, with three films in their line-up. The romantic comedy Love Battle (by Wirat Hengkhongdee) depicts the games between two people who do not have faith in their love. Well-known director Chookiat Sakveerakul focussed on the forbidden homosexual love affair of Kim Dae-seung’s Bungee Jumpting of Their Own to depict a teacher-student relationship in Dew. It is reminiscent of his famous gay film Love of Siam, but more complex. Earlier this year, the company took Thailand’s most popular Korean romance, Kwak Jae-young’s The Classic, and remade it as Classic Again, but the release was hampered by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Veteran Thai studios Sahamongkol Film and Five Star Production have remained relatively inactive. The former made only three films (Morlam Mania, Sisters, and Necromancers 2020) and the latter only one (Pee Nak). All were horror except Morlam Mania, which had a northeastern theme. Former martial arts icon Prachya Pinkaew switched his focus to ghost tales, with a story of a female flying ghost-monster in Sisters. But Sahamongkol’s only success was the sequel to the horror blockbuster Necromancers (by Piyapan Choopetch, 2005). Five Star also made two comedy horror sequels, Pee Nak and Pee Nak 2, about a group of friends who have an adventure in a deserted temple.
In general, Thai cinema depends mainly on genres. A variety of genres have emerged in the industry during the last decade, with horror and comedy being the most successful. But genre-bending is also a common trait of Thai films. Film genres are often mixed, and this can play a significant role in hitting the target market. For example, romantic comedy is popular with urban filmgoers, while the provincial audience prefer something that is easily accessible. As a result, comedy is sometimes mixed with horror, as in Five Star Production’s Pee Nak. Furthermore, northeastern-themed movies need a combination of comedy and drama to succeed in that region.
Sequels and adaptations often form the basis of movies. Tootsies & The Fake is based on a TV hit, and Bikeman 2 and Necromancers 2020 are sequels. Directorial signatures seem meaningless today, even for veteran figures like Prachya Pinkaew and Nonzee Nimibutr. Both had to seek out new companies to get their projects made. Pen-ek Ratanaruang has gone independent, and he invests in his own production company. Due to this situation, few new directors have emerged, compared to the time of the New Thai Cinema before the turn of the new century. An exception is the GDH cohort of directors. Nattawut Poonpiriya (Countdown, Bad Genius) seems to be the most successful, and his untitled project will be co-produced by Wong Kar-wai. He is also co-directing with Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) for Netflix’s Thai Cave Rescue Project.
Netflix is actively investing in Thai cinema, both in terms of acquiring old films and funding new titles. It also produces mini-series under the Netflix Original banner. One of its first works, The Stranded, was co-produced by veteran director Ekachai Eukrongtham (Beautiful Boxer), and directed by Sophon Sakdapisit (Coming Soon, Laddaland). It details the lives of people who struggle to exist on a strange Tsunami-hit island. During the Covid-19 lockdown, Netflix quickly put just-released titles such as Tee Shot Ariya Jutanugarn and Happy Old Year online.
Some established directors decided to invest in themselves and make movies that go against the grain. Tom Waller used his standing as a Thai resident to quickly make the first Thai Cave Rescue Project The Cave, before being enveloped in controversy. Veteran 1970s director Jaz Siam also used his own money to adapt an award-winning novel for his last movie Snake. Before that, he had made more than 20 commercial titles for Five Star Production over two decades.
Earlier this year, Tai Major, a new joint-venture between two movie moguls from the Poolvoraruk family, looked like it would succeed. Wicha Poolvoraruk is the owner of the theatre operators the Major Group, and Wisoot Poolvoraruk has brought a lot of changes to the Thai film industry, being the moving force behind the teen flicks of the 1990s, as well as the quality commercial films made by GDH in the 2000s. The hope is that the new company will bring positive change in the coming years.
Anchalee Chaiworaporn