Yeap, another ghost story. Thais are very superstitious so ghosts and spirits permeate their culture. This ghost story is a little different, in that it is also a period film back during the time of Siam. You’ll see period clothing, hairstyles, and old-Thai language vocabulary. This film was very famous when it came out, and to this day you’ll see references and jokes about it – this is why I recommend it. Ever see someone with a long stretching arm in an advertisement or billboard? This is the film where it came from.
11. 14th October (14 ตุลา สงครามประชาชน)
This is probably very relevant to the current red-yellow shirt crisis that’s currently happening in Thailand. This historical film takes place after the military violently quashed a protest against its rule (surprise surprise) in 1973. Most of the protesters were fighting for democracy, but there was a growing communist movement as well who joined them. As you may or may not know, communism was a growing threat in Thailand like it was in many Asian and European countries at the time. This story is from the point of view of a communist who, like many, ran to the jungles to fight a guerrilla war against the Thai government. If you’d like to learn more about Thai history, this film is definitely worth watching. You’ll also learn more about what Thailand was like in the 70’s. Interestingly, some of the protesters – victims of the brutal military crackdown in the 70’s – later became leaders of the PAD – supporters of the violent military crackdowns on the UDD protesters of 2009/2010. Oh, the irony. Anyway, I couldn’t find a trailer for you as youtube was filled with actual historical films of the event.
And yes, I realize my top-10 list had 11 movies in it . . . There are many other top Thai films out there that didn’t make my list, so if you’d like to see more there is a nice list up on Wikipedia.
