Thai cinema has a long history of misrepresenting the Lgbtqia+ community. Early films, such as “It's All Because of Katoey” (1954) contributed to the assignation of homosexuality as a social deviance. Today, Thai media have made significant progress in presenting nuanced experiences of Lgbtqia+ individuals in modern Thai society. This article presents a chronological list of 12 Thai fiction films that help understanding this evolution.
1. The Last Song (1985) by Pisan Akaraseranee
“The Last Song” tells the bittersweet story of Somying (Somying Daorai), a beautiful and successful showgirl working in a famous transvestite cabaret in Pattaya. Through her thwarted love affair with a handsome male singer, the film highlights the difficulties of being trans in Thai society. It is one of the first films to cast a transgender woman in a leading role. The film's release was a revolutionary moment, not only for the Thai entertainment industry, but also for the Lgbtqia+ community.
1. The Last Song (1985) by Pisan Akaraseranee
“The Last Song” tells the bittersweet story of Somying (Somying Daorai), a beautiful and successful showgirl working in a famous transvestite cabaret in Pattaya. Through her thwarted love affair with a handsome male singer, the film highlights the difficulties of being trans in Thai society. It is one of the first films to cast a transgender woman in a leading role. The film's release was a revolutionary moment, not only for the Thai entertainment industry, but also for the Lgbtqia+ community.
- 3/19/2024
- by Hugo Hamon
- AsianMoviePulse
Bangkok- and Beijing-based Artop Media arrives at FilMart pitching rights to two successful TV series: “Fleet of Time” and “In Time With You.” Both are part of the company’s recent drive into in-house production.
The company was founded by Zhang Dong, who studied law and Thai at Peking University and took his first tentative steps into the entertainment business as the Asian Financial Crisis was raging in the late 1990s. He was involved in importing Chinese-made Vcd players into Thailand and figured that he could add value by including the content. After a stint with China’s Han Media, Zhang found financial backers and struck out on his own in 2009.
The company positions itself as a local producer in both countries. But it is focused on the kinds of content that can travel easily between the two. That means Thai TV series that can be exported and dubbed or remade in China.
The company was founded by Zhang Dong, who studied law and Thai at Peking University and took his first tentative steps into the entertainment business as the Asian Financial Crisis was raging in the late 1990s. He was involved in importing Chinese-made Vcd players into Thailand and figured that he could add value by including the content. After a stint with China’s Han Media, Zhang found financial backers and struck out on his own in 2009.
The company positions itself as a local producer in both countries. But it is focused on the kinds of content that can travel easily between the two. That means Thai TV series that can be exported and dubbed or remade in China.
- 3/17/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
“Bangkok Love Story” director Poj Arnon’s “Make Me Shudder” looks like one of those horror/comedies that finds a group of obnoxious youngsters cracking wise with the dearly departed. While I’m not running across the ocean to check out the latest chiller from Thailand, it would probably get a watch if it landed on Netflix streaming. Here’s the premise: Guys check out haunted houses and irritate ghosts. Sometimes they make fun of the reasons these spectral beings died. Apparently killing yourself over lousy grades is an acceptable practice. Even a bloody apparition can’t get any respect these days. My synopsis sucks. Here’s the official description: During school break, there was a rule that students must leave their school dormitories to return home. However, a group of student gathered their gang for another trial of ghost challenge. Their place of choice was “Daeng Building” which held...
- 9/20/2013
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
Will Yun Lee has been in plenty of Hollywood movies, usually as the “Asian sidekick” or the “Evil Asian Guy”, but I always thought the guy had some leading man stuff in him. (He sorta proved that a bit with a regular turn in the rebooted “Bionic Woman” pilot, playing Katee Sackhoff’s love interest.) He’s going to get the chance to really prove me right when he takes the lead in the Wych ‘Kaos’ Kaosayananda-directed drama “Bangkok Love Story”, which he’ll star opposite Camilla Belle as “a retired Muay Thai fighter-turned-monk who returns to the world he left behind many years ago.” Hopefully the whole “drama” aspect of the movie won’t get in the way of some some bone-crunching, flying knee-to-the-face action. What’s a movie about a Muay Thai fighter, retired or not, without some wince-inducing flying knee action? Not a movie about a Muay Thai fighter,...
- 6/9/2011
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
The recent boom in Thai horror has revolved to a large extent around anthology films, with the likes of “Phobia” and its sequel having impressed both critics and audiences. “Still”, released domestically as “Tai Hong”, is the latest in this trend, with “Bangkok Love Story” director Poj Arnon teaming with indie helmers Chartchai Ketknust, Manus Worrasingha and Tanwarin Sukkhapisit for four tales of the supernatural. To differ itself from its many peers, the film focuses not on urban legends and Thai folklore, but on actual incidents, interpreting them in suitably sinister fashion. The film certainly proved popular with domestic viewers, being another genre box office hit that out performed the likes of the new Hollywood version of “The Wolfman”. The film kicks off with “Flame”, from Chartchai Ketknust, inspired by a real life tragedy in which a fire on New Year’s Eve in 2008 killed a great many nightclub-goers. The...
- 3/23/2011
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
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