Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Japan has something to show us
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 29/01/2020
» Held to commemorate the 133rd anniversary of Thai-Japanese diplomatic relations by the Japan Foundation Bangkok and SF Cinema, the Japanese Film Festival will screen 14 films that represent the art, culture and general lifestyle of the country, from Feb 6 at SF World Cinema, CentralWorld. Here are some highlights.
The old skeleton in the closet
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 05/04/2019
» Motherly ghosts are Southeast Asia's fiercest creatures, as they cling to their memories with a vengeance. In Marn-Da (The Only Mom), a Myanmar-Thai haunted-house horror, a motherless child wanders her old colonial house -- she was already dead, sure -- looking for love and hugs. When a new family moves in, the girl-ghost finds the perfect mother she never had and the old skeleton in the closet comes tumbling out.
Asean films receive special showcase
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 04/07/2018
» The riches of Southeast Asian stories and images are celebrated at the 4th Bangkok Asean Film Festival, which opens tonight at SF CentralWorld and runs until Sunday. Hosted by the Thai Ministry of Culture, this year's edition marks the 51st anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the regional body whose primary mission is economics and which increasingly pays more heed to cultural promotion.
Strange brew
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 29/03/2018
» He went down to the crossroads, fell down on his knees, asked the Lord for mercy -- and somehow got it. In this biopic documentary, Eric Clapton -- his place in the pantheon of guitar god-dom guaranteed -- is a tragic genius denounced by his own mother and nurturing a desperate crush on his best friend's wife, which kept his guitar wailing and weeping. Here's a 60s-70s blues-rock maverick who sold his soul to heroin, cocaine, cognac, whatever, and when he emerged from the pit and things began to feel wonderful tonight, he lost his son in a terrible, terrible accident. That a new documentary about his life to date is allowed to end happily is proof that rock'n'roll (and life itself) can cheat the claws of fate and go on for longer than 12 bars.
For the days that remain
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 17/11/2017
» Challenging taboos, one of Thailand's most popular directors returns with a film that looks death in the eye
Colourful journey into Thailand's soul
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 20/01/2017
» The train clangs ahead, moving people and dreams, as it has done since 1893. In Railway Sleepers, a minutely observed film shot entirely on-board a Thai train, we see kids on school trips, young men travelling north and south, hawkers selling food and horoscope books, families and lovers, vacationers who turn the sleeping car into a party venue. They're passengers, and they're also humans. They are, as director Sompot Chidgasornpongse says, a collection of faces that make up a portrait of Thailand.
New Zealand film festival makes Thai debut
Life, Karnjana Karnjanatawe, Published on 06/10/2016
» To celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Thailand, the first-ever New Zealand Film Festival will be held in Bangkok from Friday until Sunday.
Santi-Vina finally comes home
Life, Published on 22/07/2016
» On July 15, the Thai Film Archive hosted the screening of Santi-Vina, the 1954 classic Thai film whose negative prints were thought to be lost before they were discovered at the British Film Institute in London two years ago. After a lengthy restoration process by a lab in Italy and a world premiere in Cannes, Santi-Vina returned home after six decades. The screening at Scala last Friday is sure to become a chapter in Thai cinema history: it was an emotional homecoming and the 800-seat theatre was full to the tilt, something that hadn't happened at the venue for a long time.
The fourth dimension
Life, Kanin Srimaneekulroj, Published on 01/07/2016
» As online streaming becomes more and more common, cinemas try to come up with enticing methods for viewing a film, something that can't possibly be replicated on a couch at home. SF Cinema recently unveiled its new MX-4D cinemas, the latest in immersive, 4D movie-viewing. Members of the press were invited to one of them last week to watch Independence Day: Resurgence.
Doc lovers rejoice!
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 18/03/2016
» It is high time for audiences who appreciate the rough-edged reality of documentary films. Of the five nominees of the Oscar for best documentary feature, three had a regular release in Bangkok cinemas (Amy, Cartel Land, The Look of Silence), something unthinkable a few years ago when no distributor wanted to risk showing non-fiction films in cinemas. Now there is almost always at least one documentary film at SF CentralWorld, with the initiation of the independent outfit Documentary Club (in the programme now is The Hunting Ground, about rape crimes in American universities).