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SINGAPORE : These days, Bangkok is indeed “dangerous”. Tens of thousands of protesters have occupied government ministries. The Prime Minister has imposed a State of Emergency.
His opponents and supporters have clashed in bloody riots. And on Thursday, Nicolas Cage can be seen trawling the streets to gun down Thailand’s baddest, armed with incredibly alarming hair.
Oh, the horror.
The "Con Air actor" stars in "Bangkok Dangerous", Danny and Oxide Pang’s remake of their own 1999 hit Thai gangster movie of the same name. It’s a far cry from the original — which won the International Federation of Film Critics award at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival — but at least, it got enough attention from Hollywood to have an Oscar-winner star in it.
It’ll be in cinemas alongside Fantasia Film Festival Best Asian Film (Bronze) winner "4bia", which has been enjoying a 3-week run on our local screens. The film has grossed a very respectable S$602,000 in Singapore so far.
This is after the success of "Shutter", the 2004 Thai horror flick that scared Hollywood execs into releasing their own (lame) remake this year.
Thailand’s movie industryhas reached a new and important juncture.
Everybody Say ‘Sawadee’
Up to recent years, the Thai film industry has focused primarily on movies for domestic consumption. Now, following a streak of film hits at cinema festivals across the world and a horror movie industry that has gained international popularity, Thai films have captured global attention, with fans of world cinema coming to appreciate what Thai directors have to offer.
“For the past 10 years, it’s been up and down. But these last few years saw immense growth, especially within the last three years,” said Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, 41, who directed "Happiness" - the first of the four horror stories featured in "4bia".
“Thai movie fans have come to know the names of established directors and actors. They have become more selective, which makes the film-makers want to make better films.”
Thongkongtoon’s directorial debut, "The Iron Ladies" (1999), was one of the first Thai films to enjoy international success, showing at the Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Pusan International Film Festival, and the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival.
His transvestite volleyball comedy, along with the original Pang Brothers "Bangkok Dangerous" (1999), Wisit Sasanatieng’s "Tears of the Black Tiger" (2000), Thanit Jitnukul’s period piece "Bangrajian" (2000) and Nonzee Nimibutr’s scare-fest "Nong Nak "(1999), heralded the dawn of what’s been called “the second golden age of Thai cinema”. The films threw the international spotlight on Thailand and reaped considerable profits in foreign markets.
How The Thais Did It
In Thailand, these breakthrough films performed none too shabbily. Nang Nak defeated the world’s highest-grossing film of all time, "Titanic", while "The Iron Ladies" became the country’s top-grossing domestic film of 2000.
A real coup and leap of progress, seeing as the Thai movie industry almost died during the ’80s and ’90s, swamped by Hollywood blockbusters and a local market with a specific taste for anything and everything imported.
From a 1970s peak of a few hundred releases per year, the Thai output had shrunk to an average of only 10 films a year by 1997.
So what is the secret of the resurrection and resurgence?
Although the Thai film industry, like any other burgeoning South-east Asian country’s, has had to compete with movies imported from the West - as well as more developed film industries from Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong - the winning formula seems to be that it consistently produces films that are popular with the Thai public with universal themes that seem to travel well across the globe.
Most hugely successful Thai movies seem to revolve around the supernatural and action-comedy genre derived from Western models.
“The genre is very important for films to travel. ‘Horror’ and ‘Action’ are high concept movies that are easy to consume without dialogue. Movies speak a universal language,” said Thai director Parkpoom Wongpoom, 30.
His horror smashes "Shutter" (2004) and "Alone" (2007) with his writing and directing partner Banjong Pisanthanakun have propelled them to superstar status at home. Wongpoom also directed the final "4bia" story "Last Fright".
But, he cautioned: “Any genre chosen must carry very strong content to begin with.”
From Action To Arthouse
Of course, the Thai film industry isn’t solely reliant on horror and action movies. Two films directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, "Tropical Malady" (2004) and "Blissfully Yours" (2002), were among the first Thai productions to win recognition at the Cannes Film Festival. They delved into respective themes of homosexuality and love.
“There are a lot of arthouse and independent movies that are (starting) to get very famous and popular. Like Aditya Assarat’s 'Wonderful Town' - it’s a really great film that is doing very well at all the festivals,” said Pisanthanakun, 29, who directed "In the Middle", the third story in "4bia".
Aditya Assarat’s second feature film "Wonderful Town" (2007) is the first Thai film to win the Bean Pole New Currents Award from the Pusan International Film Festival. As of July, the film has already travelled to 29 festivals and has won nine international awards including wins in Rotterdam, Spain, Portugal and Hong Kong.
Learning Thai
With such domestic and international success, perhaps our Singapore film industry could view the current Thai cinema renaissance as a befitting (albeit not perfect) learning model for our own budding industry.
Ekachai Uekrongtham should know. The Singapore-based Thai theatre and film director, whose debut film "Beautiful Boxer" (2003) was an international critical success, has just managed another smash.
His most recent movie, the Thai horror film "The Coffin", reportedly earned 15 million baht (S$620,000) in its first four days since opening in Thai cinemas.
“It’s pretty unfair to compare Thailand directly with Singapore (their domestic market is 60 million alone), but we can learn how to make culturally specific movies which are universally relevant,”said the 44-year-old artistic director of Action Theatre. “I couldn’t make 'The Coffin' in any other country but Thailand because of the traditions, but the fear of death is a concept that anyone across the world can relate to.”
"The Coffin", a co-production between Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong, is currently the No 1 film in Thailand with a pan-Asian cast led by Hong Kong’s Karen Mok and Ananda Everingham from Thailand and will be opening in Singapore cinemas by the end of next month.
Plans to create an international version have reportedly been dropped in favour of using the same film seen throughout Asia.
Pity the Pang Brothers didn’t get the same memo. - TODAY/ra
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