Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Reforming Thai cinema
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 03/06/2024
» It has been eight months since the National Soft Power Strategy Committee was established under the government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. Meanwhile, the Thai film industry, supported by the Thailand Creative Culture Agency, has not seen any significant changes.
On the run with Toon again
Life, Melalin Mahavongtrakul, Published on 31/08/2018
» On Dec 25 last year, the entire nation cheered on Artiwara "Toon" Kongmalai as he crossed the finish line in Mae Sai, the northernmost district of the country. It was the completion of his much-celebrated, and much-debated, 55-day charity run to raise funds for 11 public hospitals. The "Kao Kon La Kao" project covered a distance of 2,215km, starting from the country's southern tip in Betong, Yala, and arriving up north in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai. Over 1 billion baht was raised from the run.
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.
A new vision on Siam's enduring symbol
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 26/04/2017
» The elephant and the man, walking down the road to redemption and encountering the wounded and the marginalised, the madmen and the prostitutes. In the film Pop Aye, which will kick off Bangkok Asean Film Festival 2017 this evening (see sidebar), the fine-tusked beast accompanies the lost soul as the duo find their way home from Bangkok to the Northeast.
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.
A song of kings
Life, Kanin Srimaneekulroj, Published on 28/06/2016
» Much like the National Anthem, Thailand's Royal Anthem, known as Pleng Sansoen Phra Barami, is an iconic tune that every Thai person knows by heart. Most commonly heard before the beginning of state occasions, movies, theatre or music performances, the cultural and musical significance of the Royal Anthem, which celebrates the monarch's glory, can't be understated.
Chinese share plunge and fed keep traders on edge
Business, Published on 03/08/2015
» Recap: Another plunge in Chinese stocks and a growing belief that the US will start raising interest rates in September pushed down global bourses before a recovery late in the week. Asian currencies also sank against the greenback with the Thai baht slipping below 35 to a 14-year low. The SET fell close to 1,400 before a rally led by buying of blue chips that had become bargains.