Who Likes Thai Films?

[joebuzzard]

The first Thai film I ever saw was Fah Talai Jone, a very wacky "western". I was hooked. Since then, I've come to enjoy many more Thai films, including Bangrajan, Nang Nak, Monrak Transistor and Suriyothai.

Recent movies I've seen and enjoyed in the theaters include Ong-Bak, Last Life in the Universe and Fan Chan.

More recently I checked out The Overture (Hom Rong) and Siam Renaissance (Tavipob), but wasn't really captivated by either of those, though they were okay.

Now out is The Eye 2 (which is too scary for me) and Ai-Fak (or I-Fuk if you prefer). It is getting some good reviews and I'll probably go check it out.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience and I look forward to hearing from others.

[Boon Mee]

When my wife & I were first married she would put on these long, boring Thai soaps that put me right to sleep! After I started to get serious about learning Thai I began to appreciate them - for the language, not the plot.

[Sandy]

Man...growing up all my mom watch was the long Thai soaps. She would rent a movie every week. And that's how I learned my Thai. And til this day, when we (my mom and i) have the chance, would sit at home all day watching the soaps now. I just love them and enjoy them. Just something different to watch from TV and movies I watch at the theatre.

[wolf5370]

The Eye 2 - I saw 'The Eye', very creepy film (bit in the lift gave me the willies - if you've seen it you will know what I mean). I like some of the Thai films.

Most of the slap-stick comedy films/shows are just on the wrong level for me though.

Soap operas/mini-series all seem to follow the same theme - some one is killed by a mafia type ~ they are either reincarnated and they discover their past life, or are a ghost ~ some kind of vengence is performed. Sorry if I ruined the plot(s)!

Khun Mia loves them though (comedies and mini-series) - so I have to suffer (or usually find something else to do). She has many of them on VCD, so I get to suffer many times over! Action movies are usually entertaining, but I really love historical movies. Fav film - no idea of the name, but may be you have seen it. About a northern (Thai) man who, when his villages Buddha has its head stolen, follows on the its trail to BKK. There he ends up fighting in a bare-knuckle place full of Americans and bad-ass Thais. He uses Thai martial arts like you have never seen - wipers the floor with this GI hulk in less than a second with a flying knee to the head - absolutely wicked! Wish I could remeber the name - may be I'll see if the Mrs remebers.

[meadish_sweetball]

About a northern (Thai) man who, when his villages Buddha has its head stolen, follows on the its trail to BKK. There he ends up fighting in a bare-knuckle place full of Americans and bad-ass Thais. He uses Thai martial arts like you have never seen - wipers the floor with this GI hulk in less than a second with a flying knee to the head - absolutely wicked! Wish I could remeber the name - may be I'll see if the Mrs remebers.

The name of the film is "Ong Bak", and he's a North-Eastern bloke, from Isaan. Different cup of insects altogether.

Personally, I really enjoyed both Hom Rong (The Overture) and Thawiphop. Also, Fun Bar Karaoke from the early nineties is a pretty good flick ("fan baa" as in crazy dreams).

I found Suriyothai far too long for my taste, although the costumes and environments were great. I also had a problem with the character gallery. The bad chick and the good chick simply looked too much alike, so I kept confusing them.

As for the soaps, I have made an honest effort to watch them, but I really can't handle that 85 % of the cast are such appalling actors.

They make "Sunset Beach" and "The bold and the beautiful" seem like the most refined stage acting ever conceived.

[PvtDick]

I enjoyed "Monrak Transistor". A nice, sweet film (with a sad edge) about a wannabe look-thung singer.

[NedKelly]

I enjoyed Bangrajan so much I went out and got the VCD. The language is hard to follow as a lot of it is old style, but it's aneasy film to watch and get the gist of. The crazy drunk guy who rides into battle against the marauding Burmese, on the back of a huge water buffaloe with the widest set of horns you have ever seen, weilding a huge hammer in each hand.........is bigger and badder than any action super hero from the 60's + 70's !

[dutch]

Nang Nak was on the Indonesian TV screen.May be I am a culture barbarian, but I had fun.I learned a little bit Thai too.

In any case better than the long Indonesian stories.

[why are the horses tired bob]

I do enjoy Thai movies and get angry when UBC show them without English subtitles. Is there any reasen for this even those shown with subtitles in the cinema?

[Boon Mee]

I do enjoy Thai movies and get angry when UBC show them without English subtitles. Is there any reasen for this even those shown with subtitles in the cinema?

You gotta learn the local lingo...?

[Rhys]

Actually, some of the teenie bopper movies have been funny.. The Red Bicycle with Tatta Young.. an insightful view of private schools. and youngster jumping into the Thai lifestyle.

Learn the language, but go with the flow of the stories.. at times, language is not necessary. This Ai Fak seems clever.... The funniest for me was the first Satreelek: The steel woman of volleyball..

Sometimes, when the only flick in town is Thai, it can turn out nice.. Motor on

[p1p]

Saw "Ai Fak" two days ago. It was excellent. Heartily recommend it..

[Schmeen]

The bad chick and the good chick simply looked too much alike, so I kept confusing them.

I cannot agree more with this.

Recent films I've watched with the wife:

"Khang 8 - Butterfly in Grey" - not a bad film, but very disjointed in the way it jumps around.

"Prang Chompoo - Saving Private Tootsie" - Bit of a giggle, pretty accessible as far as Thai humour goes.

"Jan Dara" - excellent and a bit rude too....

"Mekhong Full Moon Party" - Seemed good, but I fell asleep, nothing to do with the film. Lots of Isaan dialect so even my wife had the English subtitles on.

"Goodman Town" - not bad, cheap on DVD, worth the effort.

"Sexphone" - seen better

Still got quite a few on DVD to watch, Satree Lek 1 and 2, Nang Nak, Ong Bak we buy them all but my wife prefers Western films, so we keep Thai movies as a special rainy day treat?

First decent film I ever saw was set in the South called "Kratom Mai Talae Derm" and starred the delightful Jintara of "Good Morning Viietnam" fame. very funny in parts, and she even wear a policewomans uniform. Too much for a young boy.....

[joebuzzard]

I do enjoy Thai movies and get angry when UBC show them without English subtitles. Is there any reasen for this even those shown with subtitles in the cinema?

You gotta learn the local lingo...?

I agree that learning Thai is the best way around this. But I haven't been able to make much of an effort. So I too get pretty frustrated when there are no subtitles. The lack of subtitles on TV doesn't really bother me because I don't bother with UBC. But why no subtitles on DVDs? The new DVD's of Fan Chan are just one example. I saw it in the theaters. It had subtitles, but none on the DVD?

Part of the reason for this might be due to rights - that DVD distributors don't want to pay the rights for subtitles. That is usually a separate deal. Or they are simply too cheap to include that option and just want to do a quick and dirty Thai-only release.

Another reason I heard was because of pirating, as Fan Chan was being shown at film festivals and the movie company didn't want subtitled pirated DVDs getting out before foreigners could see it in the theaters.

So I am holding out hope that Fan Chan will someday be available with subtitles. Or maybe I'll learn Thai first. Whatever happens.

[why are the horses tired bob]

I agree even stranger no subtitles on DVDs given Thai movies starting to find acceptance over the world. By the way can anyone explain Butterfly In Grey to me I feinted during the cucumber scene and missed 10 minutes.

[BigA]

Man I saw a cool but cheesy action monster flick at the movie theatre at Big C today. It was in Thai with English subtitles. They were digging a new section of the subway in BKK when the roto bit encountered an ancient rock formation encapsulating an evil super birdlike dinosaur from the late cretacious period. For how bad a-ss the critter is, its gets killed easy at the end but otherwise it made a good saturday afternoon. Theres a token farang in the movie who they make a joke out of.

[aaaaaa]

I think that farang guy who played farang guy in the movie was over acting.... too funny is not funny anymore... and those commandos too tough and too smart ! the girl at least was pretty enough.

and can't say movie is excellent... just typical commerical flick... some CGG, special effects.... story line very primitive... even my g/f who IS thai has agreed that the movie was "tamada" at best...

I do enjoy good movie - be it farang or thai or wherever else made.... and so far I have seen few enough good movies.... interesting and even refreshing from imposing "holyvud" stlye.... that movie about thia renessanse raised many nice interesting points which I think are trans-cultural or trans-national....

some movies are just easy and relaxing to watch - well, at least once....

interesting thins is - that they somehow always try to squize in some humor... even in that last movie ai fak - although in the second part I looked around and saw no any smiling face coz it was a bit sad end actually, not at all a sort of comedy it promised to be in the begining ...

that one about Buety Queen in Bkk was funny

[joebuzzard]

Saw "Ai Fak" two days ago. It was excellent and frighteningly true to life in its depiction of the genuine Thai character. Heartily recommend it..

I was blown away by Ai Fak. I'm surprised how close and deep it cuts, not only about the materialism, selfishness, hyprocrisy and pettiness that I see in society, but also by the mob mentality.

The scene with the dog in the schoolyard was simply gut wrenching, as if killing that dog would make things better.

I hope this movie plays at film festivals around the world, and also comes out in a quality DVD release with subtitles.

I saw this last night at The Emporium. Some parents had brought their little children. Very inappropriate. I'm not sure why they did this. It might've been the holiday, but why choose that movie?

I think the previews did a great disservice to the film. I would've missed it had I not heard the positive word of mouth about it. Meanwhile, people who saw the previews and expected a broad romantic sex comedy were probably disappointed.

But the kids in the theater. That's wrong. I wonder if there was a ratings system, would the theater operators do anything about it?

[aaaaaa]

interesting, but I was there too. I remembered it once u've mentioned many kids... yeah - I saw few besides me...

and in the second part of movie when it turn from funny to quite sad - I looked around few times and saw not any sinlge smiling face and wondered - r they dissapointed in the end that is is atually not a comedy?

but at least my gf wasn't, so I guess there were many others who liked it too....

[D80]

Does anybody know where I can get Thai film DVDs with English subtitles? I got 'Kumpapaan' and 'Chan Dara' and 'Suriyothai' with subtitles but can't get 'Fan Chan' with subtitle anywhere. My sister got the Fan Chan dvd for me from a shop in Central Ladpraow. The guy in the shop insisted that there was Eng subtitle despite no indication of it on the box. Needless to say, there wasn't any subtitle...

My partner doesn't speak Thai (although I keep pestering him to learn) and I would really like to share some good Thai films with him.

Any suggestion would be appreciated. I'll have to get my sister to send the DVDs to me from BKK, so if you could recommned a place in BKK to buy DVDs with Eng subtitle that would be great.

Thanks guys!

[joebuzzard]

Does anybody know where I can get Thai film DVDs with English subtitles? I got 'Kumpapaan' and 'Chan Dara' and 'Suriyothai' with subtitles but can't get 'Fan Chan' with subtitle anywhere. My sister got the Fan Chan dvd for me from a shop in Central Ladpraow. The guy in the shop insisted that there was Eng subtitle despite no indication of it on the box. Needless to say, there wasn't any subtitle...

Fan Chan hasn't been released with subtitles. If might not ever be. I wonder if writing letters to the film company would help? Perhaps if the film is picked up for commercial release overseas, interest in it will warrant another DVD release - with the subtitles. It's a bummer, because that was one of the best films released last year.

The general rule of thumb on finding English subtitles on DVDs is to read the back of the box. If you can read the word "English" where the subtitles are listed, then you are good to go. If you see only Thai writing, there won't be any subtitles. If you ask if the disc has English subtitles, the shopkeepers won't want to disappoint you, so they will tell you what they think you want to hear.

Mangpong (Scorpion) has quite a few Thai movies with English subtitles. They have stores everywhere and are opening more every day.

I rent from Boomerang inside Siam BTS station. It's really handy. I don't have to leave the BTS system to rent my videos. I can do it while I change lines from Sukhumvit to Silom. They have many Thai titles, as well as the Shaw Brothers kung <deleted> (Thai and Chinese soundtracks, English subtitles). They also sell DVDs and have a shop in MBK as well.

A good recent DVD release is Last Life in the Universe, in which the characters spoke Japanese and English most of the time. The DVD is available with the original soundtrack and English and Thai subtitles, as well as a Thai-dubbed soundtrack. I wish all the film companies would follow this example. It's an excellent film, too, and I strongly recommend you watch it.

Mangpong also has my favorite Thai movie of all time - Fah Talai Jone - a film that Miramax optioned for commercial release in the US, but is sitting on it for no apparent reason. But don't wait for Miramax. Buy the DVD and enjoy now.

In Province 77 they speak English and Thai (and gangsta), and Thai and English subtitles are offered as well.

I bought a copy of Nang Nak with subtitles from a mail-order outfit called Thai Net City. I was only ordering from across town, but they seem reliable. There are several other mail-order outfits you can find in a Google search.

Another of my favorite films is Monrak Transistor. I have it, though I can't remember where I bought it. The subtitles are funky. They aren't the removable kind - they are on all the time, right up in the middle of the screen and hard to read. It's sad, too, because it's a nice widescreen presentation. I think the DVD was mastered from a VCD release. This is a great movie, though, well worth putting up with dodgy subs.

Oh, once I tried to watch a movie called 1+1=0 (Nothing to Lose). It said on the box it had English subtitles. Got it home and mai mee. It was only a rental, though.

Some other titles with English subs: One Night Husband, Anguilimala, Khun Suk, Sema Warrior of Ayudhaya, Butterfly 8, Blissfully Yours, Goodman Town and that movie about the Khmer princess who turns into a demon and lets her entrails trail around. I want to see that one.

There are many more. I just noticed Manpong has released a whole crop of titles from the 1970s with English subtitles! This is great news. I'm looking forward to watching some of these movies, as soon as I can figure out what some classic titles to look for are. I just bought one tonight and only went by how cool the box looked. And let me tell you, it looked pretty cool!

Some movies that I regrettably cannot find with subtitles include Bangrajan, Ong-Bak, Fake, the Mysterious Case of Prompirom and that ghost movie from last year in which the girl cuts off her arm with a hacksaw. I missed that in the theaters because I'm not really into horror movies. But the buzz I heard about it was great.

Now I try to see all the Thai films in the theaters, since I never know for sure whether they'll have subtitles in the DVD release.

[joebuzzard]

I think that farang guy who played farang guy in the movie was over acting.... too funny is not funny anymore... and those commandos too tough and too smart ! the girl at least was pretty enough.

and can't say movie is excellent... just typical commerical flick... some CGG, special effects.... story line very primitive... even my g/f who IS thai has agreed that the movie was "tamada" at best...

I do enjoy good movie - be it farang or thai or wherever else made.... and so far I have seen few enough good movies.... interesting and even refreshing from imposing "holyvud" stlye.... that movie about thia renessanse raised many nice interesting points which I think are trans-cultural or trans-national....

some movies are just easy and relaxing to watch - well, at least once....

interesting thins is - that they somehow always try to squize in some humor... even in that last movie ai fak - although in the second part I looked around and saw no any smiling face coz it was a bit sad end actually, not at all a sort of comedy it promised to be in the begining ...

that one about Buety Queen in Bkk was funny

Thanks to you, I suspended my prejudice against seeing a stupid monster movie and went and saw Garuda last night. It was everything you said and more.

Pretty stupid, especially the end, but fun anyway. I liked how the garuda would always eat the guy who was being the funniest, like the kid who was picking up the girls, the subway guard (who was that anyway?) and ... well I don't want to spoil too much.

There was some pretty cool lines. One was from the leading man, saying something like, "Any god or man who tries to change my life destiny ... is nothing but a beast." Hmm. Who was he really talking about?

Later on, when the military commanders and the government officials are bickering over why they weren't notified sooner and how much money it was going to cost, an older soldier raps on the table and says: "Why are Thais like this?" I laughed out loud. Then he continued. Something like, "We only argue and think of ourselves. We must focus and work together."

Aside from that, I liked the dude with the long knife. He put up a decent fight. And the leading lady was easy to look at as well.

Anyway, I don't know why I had a prejudice against seeing the movie. After all, I loved the original Godzilla and all the sequels. Jurassic Park was fun stuff. Garuda wasn't nearly as good as any of those, but it's still an okay flick. I give it a 3 out of 5.

[D80]

joebuzzard,

Thank you very much for your help. It's such a shame that Fan Chan may never be released with subtitles. Still... I guess it could provide an incentive for my partner to learn Thai (or a reason for me to pester him some more! heheh).

[PvtDick]

Ong Bak and Fan Chan have not been released with subtitles because the producers hope to sell them to the foreign market where the retail prices for movies are much higher than Thailand. If they released them locally at the local price with the subtitles, it would encourage a gray market trade to other countries, undermining the price levels set there.

[joebuzzard]

Ong Bak and Fan Chan have not been released with subtitles because the producers hope to sell them to the foreign market where the retail prices for movies are much higher than Thailand. If they released them locally at the local price with the subtitles, it would encourage a gray market trade to other countries, undermining the price levels set there.

This is the best explanation I've heard yet about why this happens. It sucks, but I find some comfort in at least knowing what is going on.

So there's hope then that the titles will eventually see the light of day with subtitles.

They did that with Francis Ford Coppola's version of Suriyothai. For more than a year it wasn't available with the English subs, but it finally started showing up at Mangpong and other stores, and at a much cheaper price than the special edition Thai-only release.

[joebuzzard]

Been watching more Thai DVDs.

Finally saw Krasue (Demonic Beauty), about the vampiric head of a Khmer princess that flies around with its entrails dangling, killing goats, a water buffalo, frogs and snakes. Pretty cheesy special effects, but the story is put together well and there are some decent performances. That was a rental.

Another rental was Blissfully Yours, a weird, slow-moving bit of amateur drama and hard-edge soft-core porn. It won an award at Cannes. It's a difficult DVD to find in the stores. Because of the sex scenes, it's been banned by the Ministry of Morality. Apparently it features an eight-minute scene of a guy and the older, uglyish female co-star that was clipped from the theatrical release. This can be fast-forwarded through. Nothing to see here.

Phom Mai Yak Pen Pan To (I Don't Want to Be a Colonel) can be found at Mangpong. It's directed by Prince Chatrichalerm and is the story of a Thai military intelligence guy who parachutes into Laos to impersonate a dead colonel who was thought to be working with the Pathet Lao. So he's a double agent's double. Lots of hard-boiled gunplay and hand-to-hand action, including a paraphrasing of Dirty Harry's lines, "this is a 44 magnum ..."

The Elephant Keeper. A 1987 film, also by Prince Chatri. Strong environmental themes about illegal logging. Powerful, but sad, knowing nothing has changed.

Apparently all the old Thai titles along the bottom shelve in the Thai and Asian film section at Mangpong are by Prince Chatri. All have subtitles, though on The Elephant Keeper I could only read them half the time because they were white against white backgrounds.

[Padkapow Guy]

Man...growing up all my mom watch was the long Thai soaps. She would rent a movie every week. And that's how I learned my Thai. And til this day, when we (my mom and i) have the chance, would sit at home all day watching the soaps now. I just love them and enjoy them. Just something different to watch from TV and movies I watch at the theatre.

My wife rents these thai soaps every week. I have been watching them for @ 10 years and it is alwaysthe same plot. The rich kid and the new house girl hate each other in the begining of the movie and by the end of the movie the rich kid marries the girl after she fights with his old girl friend.

Happily ever after.

Just once I would like to see the rich kid rejected as the tuk tuk driver wisk her away.

[thaihome]

Ong Bak and Fan Chan have not been released with subtitles because the producers hope to sell them to the foreign market where the retail prices for movies are much higher than Thailand. If they released them locally at the local price with the subtitles, it would encourage a gray market trade to other countries, undermining the price levels set there.

My wife just purchased an Ong Bak DVD last week with English subtitles here in China (8 RMB, about 40 baht. Western titles are 11-13 RMB, 50-65 baht.). In order to get the subtitles to show I had to go to the DVD player menu, the option did not show on the movie main menu. The English in the subtitles was the worst I have ever seen and often was unintelligible. I suspect the Thai was translated to Chinese and then into English (as there is Chinese subtitles available as well), the phraseology was similar to other bad Chinese-English translations I have seen. The audience noise wasn’t too bad, though there is someone who should see a doctor about his or her cough, at least nobody stood up in front of the camera.

TH

[thaimee]

I'm the proud owner of Suriyothai and Ong Bak CD's. Not sure I should let my girlfriend learn some of the moves from the action Cd as this might encourage her to hit me in the you know who's! i'm never far away from danger.

Thaimee.

[joebuzzard]

My wife just purchased an Ong Bak DVD last week with English subtitles here in China (8 RMB, about 40 baht. Western titles are 11-13 RMB, 50-65 baht.). In order to get the subtitles to show I had to go to the DVD player menu, the option did not show on the movie main menu. The English in the subtitles was the worst I have ever seen and often was unintelligible. I suspect the Thai was translated to Chinese and then into English (as there is Chinese subtitles available as well), the phraseology was similar to other bad Chinese-English translations I have seen. The audience noise wasn’t too bad, though there is someone who should see a doctor about his or her cough, at least nobody stood up in front of the camera.

TH

The bad subtitling and/or dubbing certainly enhances the entertainment value, though.

Ong-Bak also has been playing France. Luc Besson's distribution company got the deal. Anyway, there's a chance I could find it with French subtitles as well, though I wouldn't want that.

Once it finishes its run in theaters, then maybe a legal international DVD will go on sale. Not long ago, the VCD was shown on the bus on the way back from Trat. Turns out I really don't need to understand the dialogue to enjoy the movie.