Showing 1 - 4 of 4
Seeking freedom of speech, critics turn to comedy
Reuters, Published on 19/07/2017
» Dissent has been muted by the ruling generals since a 2014 coup. But there is one area where critical voices still have some space: humour.
Stone on Snowden
Life, Kanin Srimaneekulroj, Published on 07/10/2016
» Director Oliver Stone likes to tell stories of larger-than-life characters. Or not just characters, but real people caught up in the swirl of American history, which is sometimes to say world history: John F. Kennedy in JFK (1991); Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991); Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995); Fidel Castro in Commandante (2003); Alexander the Great in Alexander (2005); and George W Bush in W (2008). The fuzzy line between glory and shame of American policy is also his favourite subject, such as in the Vietnam War-set Platoon (1986), Wall Street (1987), Born On The Fourth Of July (1989) and World Trade Center (2006).
Snowden under siege
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 27/03/2015
» The Oscar-winning Citizenfour has opened in Bangkok. An opportune cinema experience here in our land of 99.9% democracy where the contentious Cyber Security Bills are being revised, the so-called Edward Snowden documentary seethes with unsettling power. Its civic outrage is strong, but the cool-headed storytelling gives it gravity. The immediacy of the issue at its heart is also the debate of the early 21st century. And if the film lets us know from the start that it's taking the side of the whistle-blower, all the better.
Sci-fi socialism
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 20/09/2013
» With his previous hit District 9 and now Elysium, South African director Neill Blomkamp has cornered a specific sub-genre: the sci-fi socialist action flick. In the Jo'berg-set debut from 2009, the crustacean-like aliens scavenge garbage piles and live in a filthy shantytown, segregated from the human population. District 9 is an alien film, with spaceships and laser guns, but it's actually a clever allegory about class and institutional discrimination.