Special flavors
It's not for lack of having existed, but there's not much left of the early days of Thai cinema. The first real feature films are now lost: an American-Thai co-production, Miss Suwanna de Siam (Henry MacRae, 1923), then Double Chance (Manit Wasumat, 1927), or Long Thang (1932), the first talking film in which Bangkok was presented as a city of perdition. Shot in English, The King and the White Elephant (Sunh Vasudhara, 1940), an anti-war plea at a time of looming Japanese invasion, is the first film to have been preserved. The Second World War and an unfavorable economic context slowed down the professionalization of the Thai film industry, but its appetite remained undiminished. Films in 16 mm format proliferated, unconcerned with finishing touches, subject to immediate profitability objectives, and shown at itinerant screenings throughout the country, where dubbing was performed live. Foreign and silent films undergo the same treatment, creating a unique cinematic experience and tradition, to which a scene from Monrak Transistor (Pen-ek Ratanaruang, 2001) pays tribute. In duo or solo, certain dubbers become veritable stars, taking charge of all dialogue and sound effects, and adding their own commentary in a virtuoso act of ventriloquism. As a rare U.S. ally in the region during the Cold War, Thailand benefited from substantial aid from the United States Information Agency, which contributed to the growth of these touring screenings as a means of disseminating a pro-American message. At the same time, the industry experienced its first revolution with Rattana Pestonji, considered the father of Thai cinema, who directed Santi-Weena (1954), the first 35 mm film, and Black Silk (1961), a curious mix of influences, part film noir, part melodrama, steeped in Buddhist philosophy and traditional music. From the late 1950s to the 1970s, between 50 and 80 films were released every year. Actors Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat dominated the screens, appearing in 165 films between 1956 and 1970, before the former died in a helicopter crash on the last day of shooting ofGolden Eagle, which he directed. The accident was preserved in the final version, before being removed in recent editions. His death marked the end of this overabundant production of 16 mm films.
The years 1970-1980
In 1970, Mon Rak Luk Thung (Rungsri Tassanapuk), a musical comedy set in a rural setting, was a huge success, popularizing luk thung, a musical genre resulting from a mixture of influences. It was also the time of the Vietnam War, when tens of thousands of American soldiers were stationed in Thailand, spreading American culture. Foreign directors came here to shoot James Bondfilms (Guy Hamilton'sThe Man with the Golden Gun, 1974, in Khao Phing Kan), or films about Vietnam(Michael Cimino'sJourney to the Edge of Hell). For the record, an episode of the OSS 117 series directed by André Hunebelle was a precursor in 1964. The friendship between the USA and Thailand hit a bumpy patch in 1977, however, when the government imposed heavy taxes on foreign films to stimulate local production, which in turn earned it a boycott from Hollywood. Production soared again - 150 releases in 1978 - offering mediocre copies of Hollywood films that were no longer being shown. A short-lived interlude, however, as these films made a comeback in 1981. The quality of the vast majority of these films, low-budget B-movies, earned them the eloquent nickname of nam nao, meaning "rotten water". Hand-painted posters, on the other hand, rival each other in inventiveness and garish colors, like those by artist Tongdee Panumas. It was the beginning of a critical period, when competition from television paralyzed the film industry, although there were some signs - albeit very few - of a major breakthrough. More ambitious and personal films were emerging. Cherd Songsri's films, praised by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, include La Cicatrice (1977), a peasant tragedy in flamboyant Technicolor. His influence was decisive in the films of Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol, a member of the royal family(Citizen in HisOwn Right, 1977, or The Hitman, 1983, two excellent thrillers), and Vichit Kounavudhi, who paid particular attention to the Isan peasants abandoned by the central government and their way of life in The Mountain People (1979) and Sons of the Northeast (1982). Euthana Mukdasanit's off-the-beaten-track inspiration is evoked by the story of a heroin addict(L'histoire de Nampoo, 1984), Muslim minorities in the south near the Malaysian border(Fleurs et papillon, 1985), and a mental asylum(Le Toit rouge, 1987). In the 21st century, Jira Maligool returned to this humanist and naturalist inspiration with The Tin Mine (2005), the story of a child growing up in the Kapong district.
Modern nostalgia: a new wave
Paradoxically, the revival of Thai cinema coincided with the economic crisis of 1997. Spurred on by a handful of directors with a background in advertising, films adopted a contemporary, glossy or clippish style, mixing local culture with influences from Hollywood and Hong Kong. Such is the case with Nonzee Nimibutr, who directed Dang Bireley and the Young Gangsters (1997), a gangster film set in the 1950s, followed by Nang Nak, the umpteenth adaptation of Thailand's best-known ghost story. It's also his most successful. He has made a name for himself in well-made commercial cinema, continuing to review genres dear to Thai audiences, such as the epic film(Pirates of Langkasuka, 2008), or the romantic drama(Timeline, 2014). Les Larmes du tigre noir (Wisit Sasanatieng, 2000), presented at Cannes - a first! - is an ultra-referential homage to the popular cinema of the 1950s-1960s, enhanced by the de rigueur shimmering colors. The rest of his career was lost in mainstream films of no real distinction, with the possible exception of OK baytong (2003), or Citizen Dog (2004), a romantic comedy doubling as an ironic portrait of Bangkok. Pen-ek Ratanaruang, while remaining accessible at first, shows more originality: Last life in the universe (2003) is a beautiful film where his pet peeve, aesthetic research, has not yet taken precedence over the story, that of a Japanese librarian and a prostitute brought together by improbable circumstances. The rest of his filmography can't always boast this - La Nymphe (2009) offers some magnificent images of the rainforest, but beware of boredom, while Paradoxocracy (2013) is a return to form in a genre where he wasn't expected - documentary - and questions the divisions that have continued to undermine Thailand's political scene since the democratic coup d'état of 1932. Meanwhile, the Pang brothers from Hong Kong have chosen Bangkok as the playground for a thriller in the flashy, over-the-top style typical of the period(Bangkok Dangerous, 2000). Prachya Pinkaew is a well-established stakhanovist of genre cinema, at ease in martial arts films(Ong-bak, 2003, which makes Tony Jaa a star of the genre, or Chocolate, 2008 - "no cables, no doubles" promises the trailer) and tributes to the musicals of yesteryear set in the green rice paddies of Isan, with sauerkraut as the signature hairstyle and colorful clothing then in vogue(Yam Yasothon, 2005). Shutter (Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom, 2004) is one of the best horror films of the period. At the same time, a wave of auteur cinema is taking place. His work, sometimes arid(Tropical Malady, 2004), often vaporous and sensory(Syndromes and a Century, 2006), was recognized at Cannes with a Palme d'Or in 2010 for Uncle Boonmee, the man who remembers his past lives, a dazzling reverie through the Thai psyche. Aditya Assarat's style, though more conventional, follows a similarly poetic vein in his first feature Wonderful Town (2007), a love story set amidst the landscapes devastated by the 2004 tsunami in the southern town of Takua Pa.
Foreign directors
The disastrous tsunami episode was recounted in Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona's The Impossible, inspired by a true story, which is part disaster film, part melodrama (and mainly shot in Spain). With The Scala (2015), Assarat has dedicated a documentary to a mythical cinema built in the 1970s. Pimpaka Towira's The Island Funeral (2015) is equally steamy, drowsy or dreamy, depending on the mood, with a young woman's journey through the Pattani region serving as a pretext for a muted evocation of the country's political turmoil. As tourism continues to grow in Thailand, a phenomenon partly prophesied by The Beach (Danny Boyle, 2000), shot between Phuket and Koh Phi Phi Lee, foreign directors are coming to draw inspiration from the country, and Bangkok in particular. Nicolas Winding Refn is drawn to the neon lights that are so dear to him for a necessarily atmospheric thriller(Only God Forgives, 2013), Katsuya Tomita for a jaunt to the northeast towards Laos, away from the red light district of Thaniya Road where his heroine works(Bangkok Nites, 2016), and Taiwanese director Midi Z for his take on two Burmese immigrants who have come here to find a better life(Adieu Mandalay, 2016).
