Showing 1 - 9 of 9
A nation of millions can't hold them back
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 29/10/2018
» Rhymes and misdemeanours. Yo, yo. Rappers are threatened to be thrown in a slammer.
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).
The force is strong with this one
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 14/12/2015
» This Thursday, the sequel of Star Wars will monopolise cinemas around the world. According to most predictions by box office pundits, the space opera conceived nearly 40 years ago will be the year's biggest blockbuster, not to mention a perpetuation of one of pop culture's greatest mythologies.
Spirits run deep
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 14/03/2016
» Downstairs: a vintage Fiat, a vintage Austin Mini, a few Mercedes. Upstairs: a wild museum of spiritual imagery, Brahmin, Buddhism, animism -- tall effigies of leopard-striped hermits and beautiful Buddha statues, talismanic scrolls of occult origins and prints of Khmer calligraphy.
Keeping classic films alive
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 06/04/2018
» The colours in the Thai spy movie Operation Revenge remain as vibrant as when the film first came out 51 years ago. Likewise, the struggle for independence in the Indonesian film Barbed Wired Fence remains intact, as vivid and strong as the image of the college boys projected on the screen when it came out in 1982. These films were on the verge of disintegration when they were revived to their former glory, ready to return to where they belong.
Sandcastles in sky and 'our' Leicester win
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 21/05/2016
» So unsure of ourselves, we grab a straw and think it is a rope. So unconfident of our place in the world, we find an excuse to vaunt it as national pride. Sandcastles? Maybe, and while everyone enjoys building sandcastles, only children think they're real and want to live out their lives in one.
The reels keep turning
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 05/09/2014
» The preservation of movies involves storing for posterity a popular form of entertainment, but perhaps more importantly this repository can also protect an invaluable body of knowledge and wisdom about the individuals and society from which these works emanated. It took this country a long time to realise that the conservation of film is a cultural duty, and that our audiovisual heritage is a museum of memories that plays a vital part in educating future generations about their collective past.
Eerie parallels between two Octobers
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 26/10/2013
» Justice or impunity, amnesty or licence to kill, reconciliation or oblivion, the numb comfort of forgetting or the sour, endless curse of remembering. Take your pick, for the parliamentary push for the "blanket" amnesty bill that could cleanse the legal sins of everyone from the military to snipers to protesters to ex-PMs - Thaksin Shinawatra and Abhisit Vejjajiva - has raised the political temperature and confirmed the social cracks we still have to brave.
We can teach China a few cyber cop tricks
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 17/08/2013
» Send me gifts of Line stickers. Brown, Cony, Mickey, Monsters University, Kerokerokeroppi, whatever - faster, before the tech-savvy Thai police spoil the party and shut the chat down.