Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

170 SPECIFICITIES OF GLOBALIZATIONviews. Their social concerns were triggered by twoimportant political events: the student uprising on14 October 1973 and the attack on demonstratingstudents on 6 October 1976. These intellectual-directorfilms are still considered classics and are some of themost important films in Thai history.Some of these films are Dr. Karn (1973), The Angel(1974), The Citizen (1977) and The Gunman (1983) byPrince Chatrichalerm Yukol, Mountain People (1979)and Son of the Northeast (1982) by Vichit Kunavuthi,The Angel of Bar 21 (1978), The Story of Namphu (1984)and Butterfly and Flower (1985) by Euthana Mukdasanit,and On the Fringe of Society (1980) by Manob Udemdej.However, history tells that these socially critical filmsdid not “fit” with the nature of Thai society.Censorship prevented Thai directors from attemptingany controversial or political films. When SurasriPhatum made Country Teacher (1978), depicting socialinjustice in 1970s, he was forced to escape a clampdownby the authorities by temporarily hiding away in theforests of northern Thai. In the 1980s, when EuthanaMukdasanit attempted to depict the political terrorismof 1932, his project was never given permission by theauthorities.Starting in 1985, Thai cinema experienced another typeof film: a flood of teen flicks. The teen flick genre wasso popular that even Prince Chatreechalerm Yukol, adirector from the social commentary era, eventuallymade two teen films. As a result, when later facing theflood of Hollywood blockbusters, Thai film could hardlysurvive. With low quality movies, Thai films could onlyattract audiences in remote rural areas of Thailand.When, in 1993, the Thai government was forced by theAmerican government to reduce its tariffs on importedfilms, the number of American films being shown inThailand increased. This Hollywood invasion grew evenmore potent when Thailand’s Entertainment TheatresNetwork and the Hong Kong/Australian-based GoldenVillage established EGV, Thailand’s first multiplextheater.In this context of Hollywood’s strong domination, WisitSasanatieng and his generation emerged as challengers.The turning point for this new generation of Thai filmswas when Pen-Ek Ratanaruang launched his directorialdebut Fun Bar Karaoke in 1997. This movie wasfollowed by Nonzee Nimibutr’s feature debut DangBailey and the Young Gangster. Later, Pen-Ek becamefamous because his films won many awards abroad, andNonzee because his movies broke many Thai box officerecords.After his directorial debut, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang madeSixtynine (1999), Monrak Transistor (2002), Last Lifein the Universe (2003), Invisible Waves (2006), and Ploy(2007). Monrak Transistor opened as the Thai debut inCannes’ Directors Fortnight, Last Life in the Universein Venice, and Invisible Waves in Berlin’s competition.All of his works gave him a reputation as one of thefew Thai auteurs with anti-narrative structures andexperimental cinematography.Different from Pen-Ek, Nonzee Nimitbutr’s successlies in box-office revenues. After Dang Bailey and YoungGangsters (1997), he made Nang Nak (1999) a horrormovie that was adapted from the well-known legend of afemale ghost who refuses to accept her death and insistson spending life with her husband. Both of them brokeall previous Thai box office records. After that, Nonzeemade two films, Jan Dara (2001) and Baytong (2003),which were more personal, not visual heavyweights andwithout big box office revenues.Another name in this generation is YongyootThongkongtoon. His directorial debut Iron Ladies(2000) expanded the borders of Thai cinema fromfestival circuits to international commercial markets.Unfortunately, this generation of directors, can onlychallenge Hollywood in a small way. Yes, NonzeeNimibutr and Yongyoot Thongkongtoon can havetheir share of box-office revenues. Their films can evenbeat Hollywood blockbusters. However, unlike Wisitor Pen-Ek, their narratives are not that different fromthe enemy: Hollywood. When watching a short uncutversion of Nonzee’s newest film, Queen of Lakansuka, Ifeel like I was watching another Pirates of the Caribbeanmovie.As a whole, the birth of this 1997 generation has beenunable to change the face of the Thai film industry.The majority of annual releases are still occupied withpopular genres like action, slapstick and horror. Themost recent popular movies like Ong Bak: The MuayThai Warrior or even Prince Chatreechalerm’s KingNaresuan all borrow Hollywood narratives with Thaiflavor only as an addition.In an interview, when asked to describe the current statusof the Thai film industry, Pen-Ek said, “The problemis Thai films over the past 10 years have been crap. Itwas better before. Now, Thai cinema lacks originality.”For Pen-Ek, most Thai films are marketing-driven andmarket-oriented. “There are so few directors here. Mostdirectors do not even have a voice because all of theirworks are defined by marketing officers,” Pen-Ek said.Asian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows