- EPrints UTCC

ภาพยนตร์ข้ามชาติ ในเอเซียตะวันออกเฉี ยงใต้ : กรณี ศึกษา สบายดีหลวงพระบาง
โรงงานอารมณ์ และ เราสองสามคน
Transnational Cinemas in Southeast Asia:
Good Morning Luang Prabang (2008), Pleasure Factory (2007)
and
That Sounds Good (2010).
Oradol Kaewprasert
This research is funded by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
2013
i
ชื่อเรือ่ ง
:
ภาพยนตร์ขา้ มชาติในเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้:
กรณีศกึ ษา สบายดีหลวงพระบาง โรงงานอารมณ์ และ เราสองสามคน
ผูว้ จิ ยั
:
อาจารย์ ดร.อรดล แก้วประเสริฐ
คณะ/สาขา
:
คณะนิเทศศาสตร์ สาขาวิทยุกระจายเสียงและวิทยุโทรทัศน์
จานวนหน้า
:
80
ปีทแ่ี ล้วเสร็จ
:
2556
คาสาคัญ
:
ภาพยนตร์ขา้ มชาติ คนพลัดถิน่ ประเภทภาพยนตร์
หน้า
บทคัดย่อ*
งานวิจยั ชิน้ นี้มวี ตั ถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาแก่นเรือ่ งและองค์ประกอบองภาพยนตร์สามเรือ่ ง ได้แก่
สบายดีหลวงพระบาง โรงงานอารมณ์ และ เราสองสามคน โดยใช้แนวคิดเกีย่ วกับภาพยนตร์ขา้ มชาติ
และประเภทภาพยนตร์ เพื่อวิเคราะห์เนื้อหาภาพยนตร์ และสภาพสังคมในช่วงเวลา ของประเทศทีใ่ ช้
ถ่ายทา และจัดฉายภาพยนตร์
ผลการวิจยั :
สบายดีหลวงพระบาง: ภาพยนตร์ทส่ี ร้างโดยบริษทั เอกชนเรือ่ งแรกของประเทศสาธารณรัฐ
ประชาชนลาว ในรอบ 33 ปี โดยสร้างร่วมกันระหว่างบริษทั ของไทยและลาว ลักษณะการเป็น
ภาพยนตร์ขา้ มชาติของสบายดีหลวงพระบาง ได้แก่ การข้ามเส้นพรมแดนระหว่างประเทศ และการ
นาเสนอลักษณะทางวัฒนธรรมของสองประเทศ เนื้อหาของภาพยนตร์สบายดีหลวงพระบางสื่อถึง
*
ผลงานวิจยั เรือ่ งนี้ ได้รบั ทุนส่งเสริมการวิจยั สาหรับพนักงานประจามหาวิทยาลัยหอการค้าไทย
ii
ความทรงจา และการโหยหาอดีต ผ่านประเภทสุขนาฏกรรมจินตนิยม (Romantic Comedy) เนื้อเรือ่ ง
ไม่มคี วามซับซ้อน และไม่มเี นื้อหาทีล่ ่อแหลม เนื่องจากการควบคุมอย่างเข้มงวดของกระทรวง
ข่าวสารและวัฒนธรรมของลาว
โรงงานอารมณ์: สร้างโดยการร่วมทุนระหว่าง บริษทั จากสิงคโปร์ ฮ่องกง และ เนเธอร์แลนด์
มีเนื้อหาแตกต่างจากภาพยนตร์ทร่ี ว่ มทุนระหว่างไทย - ลาว โรงงานอารมณ์มเี นื้อหาทีอ่ ่อนไหว
สาหรับสังคมเอเชีย อาทิ โสเภณี ความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างเพศเดียวกัน และความพอใจทางเพศของ
ผูห้ ญิง องค์ประกอบของภาพยนตร์ขา้ มชาติในโรงงานอารมณ์ได้แก่ การใช้นกั แสดงหลากหลาย
สัญชาติ ทีมงานสร้างและนักแสดงพลัดถิน่ ภาพยนตร์นาเสนอเนื้อหาด้านเพศ ผ่านประเภท
ภาพยนตร์ศลิ ป์ เพื่องานเทศกาลภาพยนตร์ แม้ภาพยนตร์เรือ่ งนี้จะได้รบั อนุญาตให้สร้างและฉายใน
สิงคโปร์ แต่เนื้อหาเกีย่ วกับความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างเพศเดียวกันบางส่วนกลับถูกตัดออก แสดงให้เห็นว่า
แม้สงิ คโปร์ลดความเข้มงวดในการควมคุมสื่อ แต่ส่อื ในสิงคโปร์ยงั ไม่ได้รบั อิสระอย่างเต็มที่
เราสองสามคน: แม้จะเป็นภาพยนตร์ทส่ี ร้างโดยบริษทั ไทย แต่มอี งค์ประกอบของภาพยนตร์
ข้ามชาติคอื ตัวละครและคณะเดินทางจากประเทศไทย สู่ลาว และเวียดนาม เราสองสามคนต่างจาก
ภาพยนตร์อ่นื ๆ ในงานวิจยั ชิน้ นี้ เนื่องจากตัวละครไทยไม่มคี วามสัมพันธ์ใดๆ กับคนท้องถิน่
นอกเหนือจาก ความสัมพันธ์เชิงเศรษฐกิจ และตัวละครท้องถิน่ หญิงยังถูกนาเสนอผ่านการจ้องมอง
ของตัวละครชายไทย การนาเสนอในรูปแบบนี้ไม่อาจเกิดขึน้ ได้ในภาพยนตร์ขา้ มชาติของลาวในขณะ
ทาการวิจยั ชิน้ นี้ ทัง้ นี้ เราสองสามคนยังมีตวั ละครหญิงทีม่ ลี กั ษณะพิการสองคน และมุมมองของหญิง
iii
พิการถูกนาเสนอผ่านความไม่สมบูรณ์ของภาพและเสียง ตัวละครสองตัวนี้ถูกนาเสนอในลักษณะตลก
ขบขัน ผ่านภาพยนตร์ประเภทสุขนาฏกรรมจินตนิยม
iv
Title:
Transnational Cinemas in Southeast Asia: Good Morning Luang
Prabang (2008), Pleasure Factory (2007) and That Sounds Good
(2010).
Researcher:
Oradol Kaewprasert, Ph.D.
Faculty/Dept: Faculty of Communication Arts, Department of Broadcasting
University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
Pages:
80
Year:
2013
Key Words:
Transnational Cinema, Diaspora, Film Genre
Abstract*
This study examines the thematic and cinematic elements of three films. The
selected films are Good Morning Luang Prabang or Sabaidee Luang Prabang
(2008), Pleasure Factory or Rong-ngan Arom (2007) and That Sounds Good or
Rao Song Sam Khon (2010). The films are studied via the lens of Transnational
Cinemas in the various film genres, and yet the entire paper gives the reader a
deeper understanding of the film text and socio-cultural context in which the films
were made and released.
The findings are as follows:
Good Morning Luang Prabang or Sabaidee Luang Prabang (2008) is the first
private funded Lao film in 33 years. The film is a co-production of Laos and Thai
companies. The film is full of Transnational Cinema elements including border
* This research is funded by University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
v
crossing, the representation of cultural identities of the two nations. These
cultural identities are represented through the film’s romantic comedy genre. The
storyline is related through themes of memory, longing and nostalgia. Still, the
plot is simple and does not touch upon any sensitive subject matter due to the
control from Laos Ministry of Information and Culture. The cultural and
ideological expression of Laos and Thai are exchanged in the narrative and the
film production.
Pleasure Factory (2007) is a co-production of Singapore and Hong KongNetherlands companies. Unlike the Thai-Laos co-production, Pleasure Factory
depicts subjects that are traditionally hidden in Asian Society, such as prostitution,
same-sex relationship and female sexual pleasure. The film manifests its
transnational elements by employing the actors from different nationalities along
with the Diasporic characteristic of the film casts and crews. The film portrays
sexual representation with Art Cinema elements that attract festival filmgoers.
Even though the Singapore authority allows the film to be made and released,
some parts of same-sex intimate relationship scenes were removed. The strictness
of censorship in Singapore is lessened than before to a certain extent.
That Sounds Good or Rao Song Sam Khon (2010) was made solely by a Thai
company. The film contains Transnational Cinema elements via the journey of
the characters from Thailand to Laos and Vietnam. Most of the film casts are
Thai and the characters do not socialize with the locals. One of the Vietnamese
female characters is exploited by the Thai male gaze which, at the time of this
research is conducted, will not be allowed to appear in Lao transnational films.
The disabled characters are also projected in the film. The film represents these
characters’ point of view with deteriorated audio-visual qualities. With the film’s
romantic comedy genre, the disabled characters are portrayed in a comical way.
vi
Acknowledgement
This research is funded by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
(UTCC). I would like to thank the University not only for providing funding and
time which allow me to undertake this project, but also for giving me the
opportunity to attend series of conferences and workshops.
I am grateful to the staff at UTCC research department: completing this work
would have been more difficult, were it not for their valuable suggestions and
guidelines.
Working on the project, I am very thankful to the anonymous reviewers, for their
insightful comments from the very beginning.
I would also like to thank my colleagues and friends at UTCC for their academic
and moral supports throughout the project.
In life, I have been very privileged to know many great people who become
lifelong friends. I would like to thank all my friends near and far for all kinds of
supports. Most of all, they keep me sane.
I would like to express my thanks to my teachers in life. I am fortunate to learn
from them, in and outside the classrooms.
My most important acknowledgements are towards members of my family for
their infinite supports and belief in me.
Last but not least, I would like to thank all of my students for their fresh ideas and
sense of humor that keep me go on.
Oradol Kaewprasert, Ph.D.
vii
Table of Contents
Abstract in Thai
i
Abstract
iv
Acknowledgement
vi
Table of Contents
vii
Introduction
Chapter I: Sabaidee Luang Prabang or Good Morning Luang Prabang
1
13
(2008)
Chapter II: Rong-ngan Arom or Pleasure Factory (Kuaile Gongchang)
30
(2007)
Chapter III: Rao Song Sam Khon or That Sounds Good (2010)
54
Conclusion
66
Filmography
70
Bibliography
71
Author’s Note
80
1
Introduction
In Europe, Transnational Cinema has started early since the sound film era, 1920s
- 1930s.1 The development of Transnational Cinema had been increased at the
end of WWII, during the migration of European film casts and crews to the US
and have continued ever since. Today, the impact of globalization and advanced
technologies have enhanced the trend of international co-productions all over the
world. The works of film casts and crews from different nations have more or
less created unique aspects to the films. The academic discussion on
Transnational Cinema, are, however revolved around Hollywood, Bollywood,
European, Latin American and Pan-Asian Cinemas.2 This research aims at
analyzing South East Asian Transnational Cinema focusing on three films:
Sabaidee Luang Prabang or Good Morning Luang Prabang (2008), Kuaile
Gongchang or Rong-ngan Arom or Pleasure Factory (2007) and Rao Song Sam
Khon or That Sounds Good (2010).
1
Jan Uhde and Yvonne Ng Uhde, Latent Images: Film in Singapore (Singapore: Ridge
Books, 2010) 5.
Deborah Shaw and Ermida De La Garza, “Introducing Transnational Cinemas,”
Transnational Cinemas, Intellect Ltd Editorial, 1.1.3/2 (2010) 3-6.
2
2
This study examines the thematic and aesthetic elements of the three chosen films.
Each chapter is designed to stand on its own, unveiling the details of
Transnational Cinema in the different film genres, and yet the entire paper gives
the reader a deeper understanding of the film text and sociopolitical and cultural
context in which the films were made and released.
The paper is divided into three chapters. Chapter one3 aims at looking at
Sabaidee Luang Prabang or Good Morning Luang Prabang (2008) the first
private funded Lao film in 33 years. The film is a co-production of Lao and Thai
companies. Sabaidee is full of Transnational Cinema elements which include
border crossing, cinematic connection representing cultural identities of the two
nations. These cultural identities are represented through the film’s mise-enscène, narrative and style. The storyline is related through themes of memory,
longing and nostalgia. Still, the plot is simple and does not touch up on any
serious political subject matters. The cultural and ideological expression of Lao
and Thai are exchanged in the narrative. The chapter also examines the
representations of cultural identities of the two nations through filmic elements
such as the film’s Mise-en-scène, storyline, and the narrative. Additionally,
Part of chapter one was presented as “Good Morning Luang Prabang (2008) and its
world cinema elements,” at ICAS 6, Chungnam National University (CNU), the Center
for Asian Regional Studies (CARS) and Daejeon Metropolitan City, the Daejeon
Convention, Daejeon, Korea, 6-9 August 2009.
3
3
Sabaidee Luang Prabang is discussed as a case study of how world cinema
elements are constructed in the film. The cultural representations of the film that
aim at catching the attention of international filmgoers are also examined.
Chapter two4 analyses Rong-ngan Arom or Pleasure Factory (2007). Pleasure
Factory is a co-production of Singapore and Hong Kong-Netherlands companies.
Unlike the Thai-Lao co-production films that do not touch upon any sensitive
topics, Pleasure Factory depicts subjects that are traditionally concealed in Asian
Society or society in general, such as prostitution, same-sex relationship and
female sexual pleasure. Besides the international co-production, the film employs
actors from different countries, namely China (PRC), Singapore, Taiwan and
Thailand. Like Sabaidee Luang Prabang Pleasure Factory employs the
Laotian-Australian, Bangkok based actor, Ananda Everingham. New face actors
were casted from Geylang, Singapore’s red light district and around Singapore to
bring freshness and sense of realism to the film. In this chapter, the film will be
analyzed as to how Transnational Cinema aspects allow the subject that Nana A.
T. Rebhan of Germany’s Art and Culture Channel, Arte calls “a convincing
portrait of a never-before-seen red-light district” to be made and screened in the
Part of chapter two was represented as “Transnational Cinema in Southeast Asia: case
study Pleasure Factory (2007)” at the Conference on Film and Cinema in Singapore,
jointly organized by the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore and
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological
University held on 6-7 October 2011.
4
4
authoritarian Singapore.5 The film was selected for the “Uncertain Regard”
competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and gained high acclaim from other
international film festivals around the world. In addition, Pleasure Factory was
celebrated by number of European critics. The elements of the film that pleased
these international critics are also discussed in terms of transnational art cinema.
Hence, the representation of sexuality in the film will also be explored.
Chapter three aims at studying Rao Song Sam Khon or That Sounds Good (2010).
Even though That Sounds Good was made by a single Thai company, the film
contains Transnational Cinema’ elements since the film protagonists have traveled
through East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC): Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.
Combining a road movie and romantic comedy genre, the plot is simple but the
scenery illustrates the attractiveness of the film locations in these countries. Like
the film Sabaidee, That Sounds Good represents the culture of these countries
through location, props and food. Most of the film casts are Thai but the leading
actor, Jay Montonn Jira also has Diasporic background like Ananda Everingham.
Additionally, a Vietnamese character is used in a small but important role.
Moreover, the two female protagonists are disabled in certain ways. One has a
severely short eye sight and the other is hearing-impaired. To my knowledge, the
space for disabled characters in Asian films and any other entertainment media are
Nana A. T. Rebhan, “Pleasure Factory” n.d. 20 September 2010 <
http://www.pleasurefactory-movie.com/.>
5
5
limited. The representations of these two leading female characters will therefore
be examined. The examination focuses on the use of visual and sound to
represent their perceptions of the world.
The conclusion of this research aims at finding the elements of Transnational
Cinema in South East Asian films focusing on these three chosen films, Sabaidee
Luang Prabang or Good Morning Luang Prabang (2008), Kuaile Gongchang or
Rong-ngan Arom or Pleasure Factory (2007) and Rao Song Sam Khon or That
Sounds Good (2010). The elements of the films that attract international
productions and perceptions are expected to be explained.
Objectives
1. To analyze the details of Transnational Cinema in the various film genres
2. To examine the thematic and aesthetic elements of the chosen films.
3. To study film text and socio-cultural context when and where the films
were made and released.
Literature Reviews
In Europe, Transnational Cinema has started early since the sound film era, 1920s
- 1930s.6 The development of Transnational Cinema had been increased at the
6
Jan Uhde and Yvonne Ng Uhde, Latent Images: Film in Singapore (Singapore: Ridge
Books, 2010) 5.
6
end of WWII, during the migration of European film casts and crews to the US
and have continued ever since. Today, the impact of globalization and advance
technologies have enhanced the trend of international co-productions all over the
world. The works of film casts and crews from different nations has more or less
created unique aspects to the films. Moreover some, of these local films are made
with small budget allowing the possibility for non-mainstream filmmakers to
create their own creativity on their products.
According to Higbee and Lim (2010), over the last two decades, the perception of
national cinema is more suffused with the co-production between nations,
including funding, production, actors, crews, and location to name only a few.
The questions of what is “National Cinema” are therefore asked if they are really
National Cinema in terms of the films’ funding, production, distribution, critique,
audiences and so on. The debates however often focus on European, Latin
American, or Pan-Asian Cinema as seen in 1st and 2nd issues of the first journal on
Transnational Cinema with the same name. The South East Asian cinemas are
rarely discussed in terms of their transnational aspects, particularly Transnational
Cinema among South East Asian Countries. The discussion is even less on films
from small countries with undersized film industries like Lao People’s
Democratic Republic, Singapore and Thailand.
7
The term Transnational Cinema is not only used in areas of international coproduction between technical and artistic collaborations but also political or
economic propositions. The propositions are later discussed in this study.
Adding to that, Transnational Cinema also takes account of the concepts such as
hybridization, global Diaspora and transnationalism.7 The Diasporic casts and
crews are testing the concept of nationalism as the space in which the cultural
identity and imagined communities are formed. The cast and crew of the films
analyzed in this research prove to be comprehensible examples. The issues of
Diaspora will be further discussed further in this study.
The globalization and new technologies are not only allowed the filmmakers to
internationally exchange their cast, crew, aesthetic and technology, with multiplex
cinemas, DVD and online market, these channels have provided the audiences to
easily access to alternative films from around the world. More than that, with
advanced transportations number of the audiences can be categorized as Diasporic
audiences. The cheaper and faster transportations and communication create
more mass migrations than ever before. People these days are exposed to explore
the different cultures not only from the media but tourism and migrations. The
circulation of transnational cinema and transnational audiences has created more
possibility for transnational cinema to survive in the world market. Transnational
7 Will Higbee and Song Hwee Lim, “Concepts of Transnational Cinema: towards a
critical transnationalism in film studies.” Transnational Cinema, 2010: 12.
8
film studies can as well come into view as a critical field for a transnational
discussion on cinema.
Viewers today have unlimited access to mobile and camera phones, TV set, Iphones, I-Pad, Tablet and so on. The networking society today allows the users to
exchange files of entertainment media in different forms. The emergence of new
media practices has created not only transnational media but transnational
receptions. The flow of the media from different cultures increases global
appetites for more variety of tastes. The transnational audience can as well come
into view online as a critical field for a transnational discussion on cinema ranging
from online fan reviews, online opinions to bourgeois film critiques and academic
writers. The information joined by the internet network still continues to merge
people’s knowledge, values and tastes. It is inevitable that social structures today
are constructed around mew media and information networks.
With the single market production base of the ASEAN Economic Community
(AEC) approaching in 2020, the ASEAN market and coproduction would be more
flowed with 5 elements, including goods, services, investment, capital and skilled
labour. According to Chuwit Mitrchop of Thailand Office of the National
Economic and Social Development Board, in making a film there are a number of
businesses involved; the core business and the related and supporting business.
The core business of a film production usually includes production company,
9
studio, computer graphic, visual effects, sales agents and the like. The related and
supporting business consist of countless business such as music, fashion,
transportation, accommodation, catering and other kinds of services.8 In terms of
culture, film production involves different kinds of art form. The list seems to be
endless, for instance, performing arts, visual arts, music, design, architecture, craft
along with others. The ASEAN film industry should benefit from the flow in
terms of both economic and artistic points of view. This study of ASEAN
Transnational Cinema would flag it for future consideration in the ASEAN film
business.
Now mixed international casts and crews are working in the film business
worldwide. In addition, number of Hollywood films have also paid more
attention to other cultures and histories as seen in The Last Emperor (1987), Seven
Years in Tibet (1997) or the depictions of Japanese culture in 2003, including The
Last Samurai (2003) and Lost in Translation (2003). One of the good examples is
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) which was made, casting a Malaysian, a Chinese, and
a Japanese as the film’s protagonists. Inevitably, the dynamics of
multiculturalism in the global film industry also resulted in increased interaction
between local and other cultures. Like never before, the popular global world
Chuwit Mitrchop, “The Study: Strategy of Thai Film Development,” Seminar: The
supporting of Thai Film Industry: the Practical Way Out, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok, 14 Sep. 2011.
8
10
culture has been assimilated into regional and multicultural engagement through
the artistic and industrial sectors.9
Adding to that, this study also analyzes the selected films as a regional
phenomenon through the film cultures which share cultural heritage and geopolitical boundary like Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Singapore, Thailand,
and Vietnam. The analysis also looks at the cinematic representation of cultural
identities of the co-producers’ countries. The ideological norms as well as the
films’ narrative and aesthetic formations of the films are also examined.
In examining transnational films, this research uses a number of guidelines from
Deborah Shaw and Armida De La Garza (2010). Shaw and Garza provide
thorough principle to study films through the lens of Transnational Cinema in
their study. The topics from the guideline that are relevant to analyze the selected
films are:
-
Modes of production, distribution and exhibition
-
Migration, journey and other forms of border-crossing
-
Exilic and Diasporic filmmaking
-
Film and Language
-
Question of authorship and stardom
Oradol Kaewprasert, “Gender Representations in Thai Queer Cinema.” Diss. Essex U,
2008, 18.
9
11
-
Cultural Exchange
-
Cultural and political policy
Regarding films’ contexts, this study uses the model constructed by Pam Cook
(2010) and Will Higbee and Song Hwee Lim (2010) to study the context of the
selected film as the following:
-
Nostalgia and Utopianism
-
Recognizing the dynamic and fluid relationship between center and
border
-
Desire for a space of creative possibility outside the mainstream that
will destabilize the field of cultural production and displace the
hegemony of the center
Methodology
The research will cover a thorough viewing and analysis of three films in relation
to their genres and style, focusing on their texts and contexts of the shooting based
countries. In terms of approach, this paper uses textual analysis by looking at
multiple significant of discursive structure in the films, as such narrative formulae
and technical cinematic elements. Genre analysis is also used to examine the films,
which range from romantic-comedy, road movies to art cinema.
12
Furthermore, in-depth interviews with the film producers and actors are also used
to clarify cultural, political, and industrial determinants of the chosen films.
13
Chapter I
Sabaidee Luang Prabang or Good Morning Luang Prabang (2008)
Since the late 1990s a number of Thai films have been screened at International
Film Festivals worldwide. Some of them won prestige awards like the Jury Prize
at the Festival de Cannes, for example, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Tropical
Malady in 2004. In 2010 Apichatpong’s film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall
His Past Lives, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival. It became the first
Asian film to win the award since 1997. The director, Apichatpong
Weerasethakul became the first Thai director to receive the award. The film later
won another award for Best Film at the 5th annual Asian Film Festival.
During the past decades, some Thai films had also been shown at commercial
theatres in the Asian region, America and some European countries. The good
examples are Nonzee Nimibutr’s early films such as Nang Nak (1999) and Jan
Dara (2001). Adding to that, The Iron Ladies (2000) was sold to more than
twenty-seven countries.10 This research argues that the Thai films that reach
international market employ many aspects of world cinema. In these films the
uniqueness of Laos and Thai locations and cultures become ideas that obviously
“Iron Ladies are coming to town,” Hamburger [Thai monthly magazine] Nov. 2002 :
30.
10
14
stand out in order to capture the attention of international film audience. The
paper looks at Sabaidee Luang Prabang or Good Morning Luang Prabang (2008)
as a case study.
Good Morning Luang Prabang is a co-production of Lao and Thai
companies. The film is the first private funded Lao film in 33 years. The film
was warmly welcomed by Thai audience and enthusiastically welcomed by the
Laotians. It was also screened at International Film Festivals in Rotterdam, New
York Asian Film Festival, Pusan Film Festival and so on. In terms of text, the
film is full of elements that are constructed to reach the international film
audience’s desire. The elements include stunning scenery of Laos, appealing
utopian lifestyle, and authentic beautiful Lao culture. The leading actor and
actress have different nationalities to attract wide range of audiences, the Laotian
then debut film actress, Khamly Philavong and an Australian-Laos Bangkok
based famous actor, Ananda Everingham. The uniqueness of the Thai-Lao coproduction is later discussed in this chapter.
Before moving on to a closer look at the film, this study will introduce its
audience to Lao and Thai film industries to give an overview of both countries’
film industries. Motion pictures were introduced to Thailand in 1897 at around
15
the same time as they were introduced to the rest of the world.11 The local film
industry was also formed early and has continued ever since, side by side with
foreign imports which have been coming to Thailand for more than a century.
The passage of the Thai film industry has undergone a series of rise-and-fall in
terms of production and popularity, influenced by factors from inside and outside
the country.
On the other hand, Film industry in Laos began during colonial period by French
filmmakers. After Declaration of Independence in 1959, propaganda newsreel
and documentaries are made to support the Royal Lao Government and the Lao
Patriotic Front. Since the Lao production team did not have production
equipment so the equipment was rented from Thailand. The post production was
also completed in Thailand.12 Therefore, the media industries in Thailand and
Laos have since seen a long history of interrelations. Not to mention TV and
Radio broadcasting as well as printed media that have been crossing the border
due to the similarity of the language and culture. The media that have crossed
border such as printed media and broadcasting, however, are mostly from
Thailand to Laos.
11
Dome Sukwong and Sawasdi Suwannapak, A Century of Thai Cinema (London:
Thames & Hudson, 2001) 4.
Ministry of Information and Culture of Laos, “Filmmaking in Laos before 1975,” n.d.,
7 Jul. 2009 <www.culturalprofiles.net/Laos/Directories/Laos.Cultural-Profile/-929.html>.
12
16
While Thai Film industry has been influenced by free markets, the political
system of constitutional democratic monarchy, and economic developments, in
Laos, its film industry is severely affected by the Socialist outlook. After 1975 all
private Lao film production and distribution come to ended. In 1976 Cinema
Department was set up under the new Ministry of Culture to deal with
documentary film production and distribution in the country. In 1986 Lao
economic renewal policies began to take effect in the reduction of government
financial support. The lack of subsidy put an end to the Cinema Department in
1988 and was replaced by the State Cinematographic Company. The State
Cinematographic Company however is not responsible for film production. It is
solely in change of the distribution of foreign films and the management of
cinema.
For the Thai film industry, the business has been developed in accordance with
the market, economic and politic situations in and outside the country from the
very beginning. Like many countries in the 1980s, the Thai film industry was
severely affected by the development of video, VCD and DVD. Thai film
industry had been in a critical condition up until 1999. The year seemed to be a
year of resurrection for the industry, with a new generation of producers and
directors, formerly from TV commercials and music videos, entering the business.
17
Given that Asian societies share the same interests or beliefs, 13 Thai TV
commercials and music videos were highly recognized in Asian countries.
Additionally, these new directors had already won many awards from
international advertising festivals.14
When these professionals introduced more market research, hi-tech production,
symbolism and sophisticated visual styles into the film industry, they were well
recieved by Thai audiences, including those who had previously refused to watch
Thai films.15 Thai cinema, at this stage, were not only attractive to Thai
audiences, but also successful at a number of international film festivals.
Additionally, The Iron Ladies (2000) was sold to more than twenty-seven
countries.16 Nang Nak (1999), Bangrajan (2000), and Jandara (2001) have also
gained international recognition. Like many developing countries with rich
heritages, the appeal of Thai films to international audiences is often based on the
13
Jenny Kwok Wah Lau, Introduction, Multiple Modernities: Cinemas and Popular
Media in Transcultural East Asia, ed. Jenny Kwok Wah Lau (Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 2003) 2.
14
For example, Charoon Wattanasin and Pen-ek Rattanarueang had won many awards
since 1990s: Silver and Bronze awards from Cannes International Advertising Festival, a
Bronze award from Clio International, Advertising Festival and a Gold Silver and Best of
the Best from Asian Media and Advertising Award.
May Adadol Ingawanij and Richard Lowell Macdonald, “The value of an impoverished
aesthetic; The Iron Ladies and its audiences,” South East Asia Research 13 (2005) : 45.
15
“Iron Ladies are coming to town,” Hamburger [Thai monthly magazine] Nov. 2002 :
30.
16
18
representation of cultural traditions and natural landscape.17 For Example, Nang
Nak and Bangrajan provide their audiences with Thai culture through such
iconography as costumes, settings, and locations.
However, due to the uniqueness of local culture and language, the domestic
market is still a high priority for Thai films. On the other hand, Nonzee Nimibutr
(2002) argues that there is a possibility that some Thai films are intentionally
made for the overseas markets, given that his transnational film, Jan Dara (2001),
co-produced by Thai and Hong Kong companies, was released at the same time
all over Asia and was a success at international film festivals.18 His later films
Three or Arrom Arthan Arkhat (2002) and The Ceiling (2005) were also
internationally co-produced. Later, in 2003, Pen-ek Rattanarueang took the same
step as Nonzee and made an internationally co-produced film, Last Life in the
Universe or Rak Noi Nid Mahasan (2003). The film involved companies from
Thailand, Japan, Singapore and the Netherlands. His later films, Invisible Waves
or Khamphiphaksa Khong Mahasamut (2006), and Twelve Twenty (2006) were
also international. Apichatpong’s film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past
David Desser, “Consuming Asia: Chinese and Japanese Popular Culture and the
American Imaginary,” Multiple Modernities: Cinemas and Popular Media in
Transcultural East Asia, ed. Jenny Kwok Wah Lau (Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 2003) 185.
17
“Global Demand for Thai Films Growing, director says,” The Nation
on the Web [Thai English daily newspaper] 18 Jan. 2001, 5 Feb. 2004
<www.groovybangkok.com/thai_movie_update.html>.
18
19
Lives (2010), is also an international co-production of a long list of co-producer
list, including Apichatpong’s company Kick the Machine, Britain’s Illuminations
Films, France’s Anna Sanders Films, Germany’s The Match
Factory and Geissendörfer Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Spain’s Eddie Saeta and
the Royal Thai Ministry of Culture. The result of such cross-cultural production
has produced a new trend to the industry.19
As for international audiences Good Morning Luang Prabang employs many
aspects of world cinema that would please filmgoers outside Laos and Thailand.
The directors20 employed Lao traditional culture and natural landscapes to make
the film attractive to international audience. Besides the beautiful sceneries of the
film, scenes of Lao wedding and ceremony of welcoming [Tam Kwan21] were
added into the film. It is apparent that Good Morning Luang Prabang was
strongly intended for international audience.
Pantiwa Aumjerm, “2001 Golden Year of Thai Films; from dust to
dawn,” Thai: Film Magazine, Oct. 2001 - Mar. 2002, 25 Feb. 2004
<http://www. thaifilm.com/thai/JournalDetail.asp?journalID=18>.
19
20
There are three directors for the film, one from Laos, Anusorn Sirisakda of Lao Art
Media and two from Thailand, Sakchai Deena and Ananda Everingham.
21
According to So Setthaputra Thai-English Dictionary in ThaiSoftware Dictionary v.7.0
Explain the ‘Tham Kwan ceremony as: The ceremony that tutelary spirit guarding a
person, especially a child: heart, morale, courage and self-confidence.
20
The uniqueness of locality and region become inspirations that obviously stand
out in the film. The ideas of exerting the natural landscape to capture the attention
of international audiences are parallel to what Rachel Harrison mentions when
analysing Nonzee Nimibutr’s early films such as Nang Nak (1999) and Jan Dara
(2001). She points out that the films appealed to the audience with images of
“Flora, fauna, household, accessories, architecture . . .” that sensually emphasized
the exotic landscape of the country.22 Adding to that, Anousone Sirisakda of
Laos Art Media, co-producer of the Sabidee film said that the film has its own
strength. It does not have to imitate the other films. It fulfills what the world has
missed out today such as unique cultures, gentle manners and beautiful
landscapes. Regardless of how far the world has changed, people will come back
to their points of origin.23
In terms of film technique, Good Morning Luang Prabang is shot mostly outdoors
using a road movie approach. The sets in Laos are presented in sharp contrast to
the ones in Bangkok. The film shows a hectic life with Bangkok metropolitan’s
skylines before moving pass the scenic green forest into small town in Laos. In
the Capital city of Thailand the film shows the character as a very small creature
Rachel Harrison, “Amazing Thai Film: The Rise and Rise of Contemporary Thai
Cinema on The International Screen,” Asian Affairs XXXVI (2005) : 237.
22
23
Anousone Sirisakda, Personal Interview, 13 September 2010.
21
encircled by the city skyline. On the contrary, in Laos, the protagonists are
surrounded by an easy atmosphere of small towns where people have an easy
lifestyle and the local culture is still practiced in everyday life. The purity of the
untouched towns and communities symbolizes a utopian space with which
everyone is satisfied. This kind of community is worlds apart from the everyday
lives of cosmopolitan film audience.24 The serene community helps to depict a
world in which international audience would like to live.
Luang Prabang, the world heritage site, is obviously the central motif of the film.
It appears in the film title and the place is where the two protagonists move
around at the end of the film, allowing it to show the natural and historical sites of
the town. The locations in the film play a crucial role in developing a fantasy
regarding the nature of purity and a local mode of symbolic representation.
Comparing Bangkok City with Luang Prabang emphasizes Laos as a place
unspoiled by modernity.
Discussing the film title the similarity of the languages between Thai and Laos
should be examined. The film title Sabaidee Luanphrabang in Laos means ‘Hello
Luang Prabang,’ as the film translation in English, Good Morning Luang
Prabang. When the film is shown in Thailand, the producer still use the same
24
Thomas Elsaesser, European Cinema: Face to Face with Hollywood (Amsterdam:
Amsterdam UP, 2005) 508.
22
title as in Laos, Sabaidee Luang Prabang. Sabaidee Luang Prabang is
understood by Thais as ‘[I am] fine, Luang Prabang.’ or in interogative sentence
‘How are you?’ Even though the literal translation of the film title into Thai and
Lao languages is not exactly identical, the term ‘Sabaidee’ can be used as a
greeting word for both nations. The title of the film thus evokes the similarity of
the language and culture. The connection of language and culture between the
two nation helps casts and crews from the two nations understand each other to a
great degree.
Not only the language that eases the communication between the cast and crews
from the two countries, but the culture also makes them understand each other at a
deeper level. Adding to that, Anousone stated that Lao [similar to Thai] Culture is
a collective one with tightly knit community. People have strong social support
networks and still firmly depend on family, friends, and religion [Buddhism].
Additionally, the deep root of Buddhism in Thailand and Laos also construct the
resemblance characteristic of the two nations. According to Anousone, working
with Thai cast and crew is quite easy since we have already known each other’s
culture.25
25
Anousone.
23
In terms of pre-production process, The Lao Ministry of Information and Culture
had to read the film script very carefully since the former Thai film, a sport
comedy, Mak Tae Loke Talueng or Lucky Loser (2006) depicts the Lao football
team in the way that Lao people found offensive. The Mak Tae film later had to
re-edit and reshoot some parts before released.
Therefore, the script of Sabaidee
Luang Prabang had to be revised with care. Anousone stated that “Everything is
supposed to be perfect, you cannot make fun of any culture.” According to the
Lao producer, the sensitive issues had to be taken out. The male protagonist has
to be a Laotian coming from abroad not a total outsider [nor the Thai male]. For
the Lao female protagonist, she has to be gentle and demure. The ways she talks
and moves have to resemble a proper Lao lady (Mae Ying Lao). Anousone added
that when the film respectfully represented Lao culture and landscape, it could be
used as a great tool to strengthen good relationship between the two countries.
According to him, film should deliver accurate knowledge without exploiting any
women nor the cultures. He added that the film crews should understand what
they are presenting. He furthered that the film aims at represent Laos in a realistic
way rather than being too melodramatic. Since Lao people are not emotional.
The drama of the filmic elements have to be properly put in.26 Anousone’s
26
Anousone.
24
statement represents the efforts to maintain Lao identity and homogeneity in the
film.
In much the same way with the cultural representation, the sceneries of Laos are
not there by coincidence or the film’s aspects of road movie and romantic
comedy. According to the Leading actor and film co-producer, Ananda
Everingham, to shoot a film in Laos requires the script to be approved by the
Ministry of Information and Culture and every details has to be culturally and
historically accurate, by the standard of the Lao government. One of the
comments made by Ananda is that the authorities wanted the film to be more
commercial so they wanted to add more scenery.27 In addition, every time the
protagonists move from one town to another the caption will be shown to make
sure the audience know exactly where the place is. In some scenes the maps of
the places are shown on the screen to explain how to get there. Since Noi, the
female protagonist, is a tour guide her role is to explain about the significance of
natural and historical places where the two protagonists travel to. Additionally
the male protagonist, Sorn is a professional photographer on his job, therefore a
number of still pictures of beautiful scenery are also illustrated on the screen.
Adding to the tourism elements in the Sabaidee film, Lao Tourism Authority
Joel Gershon, “Q&A: Ananda Everingham Star and producer of Laos’ first commercial
films in 33 years,”Hollywood Reporter on the Web 5 Jun. 2008, 6 Jul. 2009
<http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content _display/news/
e3id5e31ff62023deed6d0d43eb4633f8f7>.
27
25
prefers that the term “Sabaidee” is used in the title to suggest the theme of their
promotional strategy. The film title together with the beautiful serene scenery, the
film should be called “tourism film” as well. The feedback from numerous online
comments state that after watching the film, “they want to go to Laos/Luang
Prabang.” The film is admirable for its attractive cultures and beautiful
presentations of local landmarks.
It is not only the scenes of small towns and the big city that represent the
distinctiveness of modernity and traditional living in Laos, the ideologies of the
characters also signify an anti-materialistic orientation and a spiritual goal. In one
scene the two protagonists have to stay overnight at a village. Sorn tries to give
the villagers money for letting them stay at their house while Noi sees that as an
insult to the villagers. Later, the two argue over a boat taxi. Noi insists that since
she had paid for the fee so the driver would definitely come to pick them up. By
contrast, Sorn argues that if she had not paid the fee, the driver would definitely
come to pick them up. Here Noi’s trusting the other party symbolizes the belief in
her society that people still honor kindness and obligation beyond capitalism while
Sorn’s belief in capitalism signifies a society where money is more valuable than
morality.
According to the Thai director Sakchai Deena’s interview with The Independent
that the reason why the plot has to be as simple as ‘a boy meets a girl and they fall
26
in love’ is that “we wanted a soft storyline so it would not be too hard to get
approval from the Lao government.” The Independent, further states that “a
member of the government was on the set at the time of the shooting to ensure
that Laotian culture was portrayed appropriately and the film editor removed a
number of scenes they believed might be controversial. 28 They [the filmmakers]
also deliberately chose a plot that would not challenge the authorities.” Ananda
asserts that the film is Lao first film in 33 years so he would like to respect the
opinions from the Laotians as well.29
Furthermore, the filmmakers had at first wanted the male protagonist to be
interracial between Thai and Australian, to represent Thailand, and a Laotian
female protagonist to represent Laos. However, as Anousorn noted, the Laotian
authorities wanted the male protagonist to be an Australian-Laotian so the
filmmakers had to change the character’s nationality to resemble the real life of
the film co-producer and actor, Ananda.30
Andrew Buncombe, “Good Morning, Luang Prabang – and hello to Laos’s film
industry,” The Independent on the Web 10 Jun. 2008, 8 Jul. 2009 <
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/good-morning-luang-prabang-ndash-andhello-to-laoss-film-industry-843557.html>.
28
29
Gershon.
30
Anousorn.
27
Obviously, the globalization does not affect only the culture but an individual as
well. As mentioned above, Ananda is an interracial of Australian and Laos. He
grew up in Australia and Bangkok and has made his career as a famous actor in
Thailand and Asian region. His identity is, as Sorn states many times in the film,
‘ambiguous.’ With globalization effects, the nationalities of films become
ambiguous just like other kinds of art forms, culture, sports31 or a person like
Ananda and many others. The lead female character, Khamly Philavong, has
international complexity. She is an interracial between Laos and Chinese. She
grews up in Laos but studied International Trading at a university in China.
In the film Sorn played Ananda, is seen to be talking from time to time to his
parents in English, Laos and Thai on his mobile phone. The conversations of the
characters in the films are mostly in Laos and Thai but occasionally English is
used. The use of different languages is another aspect that represents the
transnational characteristics of the film.
As stated by Anousone, the Lao co-producer, the film is well received by the
audiences in Laos, Thailand and Japan. Moreover, there is a demand for the
second part of the film. The national and international success of the Sabaidee
film makes the producers, both Thai and Laos, decide to make two more sequels
31
Some football teams in England have their players from all over the world together
with non-English coach.
28
using the same leading female actor but different leading male actors.
Surprisingly, in the sequels with exactly the same plot, the film male protagonists
are allowed to be Thai. The relaxation of the regulation may be due the fact that
the first episode of the Sabaidee film represents Laos in a respectful way.
Unfortunately, the two sequels were not as successful as the first one in terms of
box-office receipt and critical acclaim. The film producers might try to
take precautions not to touch upon any sensitive issues. However, making film
with similar plot, casts and locations might displease their fans.
Internationally, the co-production will help the film casts and crews to gain access
to a variety of cultures worldwide and provide an opportunity for Southeast Asian
transnational films to reach global targets. It is hoped that the production and
marketing aspects will combine art and commerce in a reasonable ratio and
provide more alternatives for film audience.
To conclude, Sabaidee Luang Prabang uses elements of transnational cinema
with the representation of Lao beautiful landscape, pure cultures and utopian
lifestyle. In terms of production mode, contextual factors of Lao authority reveal
the specificities of film and media business in Laos. The film demonstrates that
Thai filmmakers also treat the Lao cultures and characters in a respectful way.
29
The similarity of cultures and languages of Thai and Laos also create positive
social relation that results in the film sequels. Being precaution by making the
second and the third films with the same plot, casts and locations does not
challenge the audience. The discussion of the film text proves that in a
transnational age, it is not only film production, distribution and consumption that
have become transnational business: the film text too manifests intercultural
representations.32
In the next chapter the analysis moves on to more a challenging transnational film,
Rong-ngan Arom or Pleasure Factory (Kuaile Gongchang) (2007). Contrary to
the Sabaidee film, Pleasure Factory distinctively approaches a number of
sexually taboo subjects. The film presents the subjects with explicit sexually
oriented narrative in many ways. The chapter will discuss how the film can be
made and released in an authoritarian nation like Singapore. Besides the film
storyline, the presentation and style differ greatly from Sabaidee Luang Prabang
or mainstream films in general.
Martin Roberts, ““Baraka”: World Cinema and the Global Culture Industry,” Cinema
Journal 37 (1988): 65.
32
30
Chapter II
Rong-ngan Arom or Pleasure Factory (Kuaile Gongchang) (2007)
This chapter aims at analysing an international co-production film Rong-ngan
Arom or Pleasure Factory (Kuaile Gongchang) (2007). The film depicts subjects
that are traditionally hidden in Asian Society, such as prostitution, female sexual
pleasure and same sex relationship. Pleasure Factory was selected for the
“Uncertain Regard” competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, and was the
second film from Singapore that entered the category.33 The film was later shown
at international film festivals around the world and later released in the United
States. Pleasure Factory is also acclaimed by a number of European critics.
The film is a co-production of Singapore and Hong Kong-Netherlands companies.
Other than being an international co-production, the film employs actors from
different countries, for instance, the Taiwanese actress, Yang Kuei-mei, the then
Singaporean debut actor Loo Zihan and the Laotian-Australian, Bangkok based
actor, Ananda Everingham. New faces were recruited from Geylang, Singapore’s
Red Light District and elsewhere in Singapore to add more realism and freshness
to the film. In this study Pleasure Factory is analyzed as to how aspects of
Wayne Arnold. “Cannes: The director Ekachai Uekrongtham explores Singapore’s
underbelly.” The New York Times. 15 May 2007, 23 Aug 2010
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/25/arts/25iht-singfest.1.5863686.html>
33
31
Transnational Cinema allow the subject, that Nana A. T. Rebhan of Germany’s
Art and Culture Channel Arte calls “a convincing portrait of a never-before-seen
Red-Light District,” to be made and screened in authoritarian
Singapore. Unavoidably, the representation of sexuality in the film will be
explored. The ideological norms as well as narrative and aesthetic formations of
the film are also looked at. Before moving on to analyzing the film, it is
necessary to understand the multicultural filmmaking in Singapore and its film
industry as described below.
Filmmaking in Singapore seems to be really transnational since the very
beginning of the industry. Like the country itself, filmmaking in Singapore has
been influenced by Malay, Indian, Chinese, British, Middle-Eastern, and
Japanese. The multi-ethnic and multicultural society of Singapore is the result of
numerous reasons including the country’s geography, the ethnic structure of
population and historic background, to name a few. At that time, Singapore was
influenced by the Malay power over the Southeast Asia. When the British
colonization was over in 1959, Singapore joined the Federal Malaysia and later
gained independence in 1965.34
34
Raphaël Millet, Singapore Cinema (Didler Millet Pte Ltd: Singapore, 2004) 10.
32
After the independence Singapore film industry, like the country, has experienced
various changes. According to Raphaël Millet, the films during that time circled
around the theme of contemporary social drama rather than historical period
content. A number of pop & rock culture was added into the film in that period.
The country itself was also entering the phase of modernity with rapid speed. The
landscape of Singapore is changed into high-rise buildings. The country’s
landscape is later talked about when discuss about Pleasure Factory’s location.
The multicultural characters of Singapore are furthermore resonance in the film
industry. It is more comprehensible if we discuss Singapore film industry by
looking at the film language. According to Millet’s study, from the beginning of
the industry, i.e. from 1920s to 1970s, the majority of the films made in the
country were Malay. There were some Chinese movies but they were really rare.
Through the use of Malay language and Malay characters, the Malay culture,
ideology and way of life were shown in the film. Even though the language used
in the film was Malay, the major film studios were owned by the Chinese,
namely, The Shaw Brother and Cathay Keris. The background of the film
producers at that time reflects the Chinese economic strength in the country.35
The drastic change to the Singapore film industry happened during 1967 – 1972
when Shaw and Cathay had changed their production strategies. At the decline of
35
Uhde and Uhde, p.5.
33
business, the two studios later moved to Hong Kong. Singapore cinema, unlike
film industry in other countries, was idle for fifteen years. In the 1980s while the
country was enjoying the rapid economic growth, stability and peace, the film
industry in Singapore ceased to operate. The only films made at that time were
the works of a small video hub or home movies. Like many parts of the world, in
1980s the development of technologies that brought entertainment to the home
like television and VCR have a strong impact on the film industry to a great
degree. In Thailand the film industry was affected the same way. During the
time, the volume of films made in Thailand had been reduced from more than
hundred feature films a year to less than ten films a year. Unlike the industry in
Singapore, Thai film industry still survived the downfall period and was
resurrected in the 1990s as mentioned earlier in this research. The trend of the
industry’s revival in Singapore seems to be the same. Interestingly, during the
period of film industries, resurrection in Singapore and Thailand, the films of the
two countries represent nostalgia from the good old days.
From the 1990s onwards, the film industry in Singapore was brought back to life.
Millet notices that Feature films in Singapore were produced in Chinese combined
with many dialects and English or Singlish.36 The majority of the new Singapore
films during the resurrection are mainly Chinese, with limitation on representing
36
The local variety of English
34
minority races. Millet states that the popular movies at the time were made by
Chinese cast and crews. During this time Singapore film directors also made their
names internationally recognized like Jack Neo, or the international success of
festival circuit such as Eric Khoo, Royston Tan and Tan Pin Pin.
In addition, Millet suggests that in a small country with a small film industry, the
film cast and crews cannot, without difficulty, be trained and improved by just a
small number of movies made per year. Transnational filmmaking would enable
the film cast and crews to explore new aspects and offer exchanging of ideas and
technology of filmmaking. The transnational co-production would also make the
film internationally marketable and successful in the international film festivals.
In the 2000s with the international co-production, Singapore film production
seems to be resurrected to full capacity. Encouraged by the government plan for
Singapore to be a global media city, regional and international co-production
enhance the film production to be recognized internationally.37 Pleasure Factory
(2007) seems to fall into that category. Transnational aspects of Pleasure Factory
is discussed below.
37
Uhde and Uhde, p.5.
35
In discussing cultural exchange, the concepts such as hybridization, global
diaspora and transnationalism need to be taken into consideration.38 In Pleasure
Factory, the diasporic cast and crews are testing the concept of nationalism as the
space in which the cultural identity and imaginary communities are formed. The
director of Pleasure Factory, Ekachai Uekrongtham, is a Thai who has spent his
career life in Singapore. The leading actor of Pleasure Factory, Ananda
Everingham is part Laotian and part Australian who resides in Thailand. The
issues of diaspora are then discussed further in this chapter.
To examine Pleasure Factory as a transnational film, this research uses a number
of guidelines from Deborah Shaw and Armida Ed La Garza who provide a
thorough list of principles on which to base a study of films through the lens of
Transnational Cinema.39 The topics from the list that are applicable for analysis
of such films are: Modes of production, Exilic and Diasporic film making,
Question of authorship and stardom including Film and Language.
In analyzing the film texts, this study uses concepts designed by Pam Cook, Will
Higbee and Song Hwee Lim to study the following notions:
-
Nostalgia and Utopianism
38
Higbee and Lim, 11.
39
Shaw and Ed La Garza, 5-6.
36
-
Desire for a space of creative possibility outside the mainstream that
will destabilize the field of cultural production and displace the
hegemony of the center
In terms of the mode of production, Pleasure Factory is a co-production of
Singapore based Spicy Apple Films, The Hong Kong - Netherlands company,
Fortissimo Films and Singapore’s InnoForm Media. Being an international coproduction, this small project creates a unique statement to the ASEAN
filmmaking industry. It could be said that globalization has paved the way for
transnational corporations like Fortissimo Films in many countries.
Besides the international co-production, Pleasure Factory employs actors from
different countries, such as the Taiwanese actress Yang Kuei-mei. Yang has
worked with a number of internationally acclaimed directors, such as Ang Lee’s
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), Tsai Ming-liang’s The Hole (1998) and Goodbye,
Dragon Inn (2003). She also acted in another Tsai Ming-Liang’s French film,
Face (2009). In addition, the film’s leading male character is the LaotianAustralian, Bangkok based actor, Ananda Everingham. As for Ananda, it is not
only his birthplace that can be considered transnational, he also has had an
Anglophone education, followed by American curriculum at an International
School in Bangkok as well as an Australian educational system when he visited
his grandparents in Australia during his Bangkok school breaks. In Asia, Ananda
37
has worked on a number of international co-productions, among them Ploy
(2007), Good Morning Luang Prabang (2008), The Leap Year (2008) and
Ekachai Uekrongtham’s The Coffin (2008). He is now working on a TV series on
Asian Channel. Adding to the cast list, a mainland Chinese actress, Xue Er, also
plays one of the main characters in the film. New face actors were recruited from
Geylang, Singapore’s Red Light District, and elsewhere in Singapore to bring
freshness and a sense of realism to the film.
Ekachai Uekrongtham, the director, is a Thai who has lived his professional life in
Singapore. Even though he was born and raised in Thailand, he also lived and
worked more than half of his life in this island state.
In Singapore, Ekachai has run successful Action Theatre Company, designated by
Mayo Martin from Singapore compact newspaper Today, as “the local theatre
scene’s adopted Thai son.”40 In his theatrical works, Ekachai occasionally
produces plays that represent transnational ideas. According to The Coffin official
website, Ekachai has directed and produced more than 100 plays and musicals in
America, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.41 Ekachai has established the
40
Mayo Martin, A spectacle that packs a punch: Ekachai Uekrongtham returns to
Singapore theatre with less talk and more action . Singapore , Sep 05, 2011.
41
The Coffin. n.d. 28 Aug. 2001 <http://www.thecoffin-movie.com/en/en>
38
transnational quality through his play characters, for example, Mail Order Bride
and Other Oriental Takeaway. The transnational expression in his films will be
discussed later in this chapter.
In addition to actors of different nationalities, the discernible qualities of
Ananda’s and Ekachai’s transnational lives and careers are good examples of the
mixing and matching of ASEAN people. The variety of actors’ nationalities and
the mixed characteristics of Ananda and Ekachai are evidence of the interaction
and increasing globalization of trade, business, migration, education,
communication, and so on. For centuries Asian people themselves have mixed
and matched in and outside Asia.42 Given that globalization has increased
interaction among people in the world, this cultural assimilation continues
constantly in these active cultures. With AEC just round the corner, it is quite
impossible to draw clear lines between ASEAN countries in terms of cultures and
values. As with Ananda’s biography, the line between Asian and Western
countries is also fused.
In Pleasure Factory, Ekachai uses the ‘art cinema’ style, with reference to the
area of narrative structure and cinematic style, which is obviously against the
Jim Richstad, “Asian Values and Transnational Television , The Battle in the Sky for
Market and Cultures.” TV Without Borders: Asia Speaks Out ed. Anura Goonasekera and
Paul S.N. Lee AMIC Singapore 1998. P.296 – 297 Pp 287-306.
42
39
classical cinema convention. Pam Cook, Will Higbee and Song Hwee Lim
describe that Transnational Cinema as “desire for a space of creative possibility
outside the mainstream that will destabilize the field of cultural production and
displace the hegemony center.” Pleasure Factory seems to embrace the idea; the
characteristic of art cinema include the unset location, purposeless characters and
discontinued storyline. Before moving on to discuss the film as art cinema, the
characteristic of classical or Hollywood cinema is described below.
To define classical cinema style more closely, here is the description by David
Bordwell. According to Bordwell, classical cinema always uses the narrative
form to motivate cinematic representation. The characters of classical cinema
regularly are goal oriented and follow logical or a cause-effect progress. As
regards cinematic representations in classical cinema, editing is used for the
logical narrative or emotional purpose. The mise-en-scene is also intentional by
designing the set such as three-point lighting and a specific camera distance.43
The sound is commonly synchronized or, like other elements, used to create
particular meaning or emotion. These elements have been used in mainstream
cinema to the extent that the audience is familiar with their certain representations
of meanings. Since large groups of audiences understand the language of
classical cinema, the mainstream film productions continue to use the same
David Bordwell, “The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice.” The Eurpoean Cinema
Reader, 2002: 95.
43
40
language to reach larger groups of audiences. Cinematic cultural productions of
mainstream cinema also enable the industry to predict the audience’s expectation.
The productions of the media become manufacturing system that establishes a
number of practices which include both productions and consumptions.
In addition, Bordwell states that the art cinema is often against the classical
narrative mode. He says that the two principles of art cinema that motivate
narration are realism and authorial expressivity. On the other hand, art cinema
could be categorized as realistic cinema. The films in this category always use
real locations, such as Geylang district in Pleasure Factory. Next, the film
location is analyzed in terms of how it corresponds to the art cinema elements.
Similar to De Wallen’s fish tank in Amsterdam, and Patpong in Bangkok,
Geylang is a Red Light District in Singapore. According to the well-know
travellers’ guide book The Lonely Planet Singapore City Guide, Geylang is
“synonymous with Singapore flesh trade, there’s more to this neighbourhood than
meets the eye.” The guide book further gives details that “… this district behind
the open-air market is filled with a Dante-esque assortment of brothels, girlie bars,
cheap hotel and alley after alley lined with prostitutes from all over Southeast
Asia in all times.”44 The film represents the bustling place from a distance in a
44
Mat Oakley and Joshua Samuel Brown, Singapore City Guide. Victoria: Lonely Planet
Publications, 2009: 77.
41
documentary-like style. It does not offer any moral judgment or any
encouragement to support the people and the activities on the street. According to
the director’s interview with The New York Times, Ekachai expressed, “I don’t do
the film to expose the dirty side of Singapore, rather, it was Geylang’s very
incongruity that drew me back to the district to document the life of its denizens.
Pleasure Factory is about human connections.” In a number of scenes the camera
honestly moves past the area without concentrating on any object. The use of real
location and available lighting represents a realistic range of space and time
continuum. The long shots are often used with handheld camera which
corresponds to documentary realism. As the director stated, “I wanted to put
people in situation where something original happens.”45
At Geylang, the film illustrates the lives of sexual pleasure providers and pleasure
seekers along with other kinds of seekers and providers. In the film, Geylang
could be somewhere or elsewhere in Southeast Asian countries that characterizes
the vibrant of cultural exchange. In one scene a man is offered a service of
women from different countries, leaving the question of national specificity.
Since sexual pleasure is universal, the globalized commercial culture has created
new identities that are no longer connected to a specific notion or place of origin.
45
Arnold, 2007.
42
On the street there are other kinds of businesses such as hotels, cloth shops, fruit
shops, coffee shops, food shops and restaurants. Traditional Southeast Asian
Market is also there. It is quite interesting that Geylang has another dimension; it
not only provides secular pleasure but also spiritual ones. Along with different
kinds of businesses in the area, Geylang is a center of spiritual places, including
large temples, monastery, mosques, religious school, shrines and so on. Besides
representing of the realism by showing the roll of shops in Geylang, the scenes
represent nostalgia sentiment of Singapore old town which is now being replaced
by high-rise buildings which Singapore City Guide describe as “Skyrocket seems
to lean towards tearing down older shopping areas and replacing them with more
‘Disney-esqu’ area.” Cited in Liew Kai Khiun and Blenda Chan, Jameson states
that nostalgia films seek to recapture the fashion styles and atmosphere of a
bygone era.46 Pleasure Factory seems to fit the category.
It is along a roll of restaurants that the film projects a character of a street
musician providing pleasure for the customers. The musician is later shifted from
his position to be a provider of another kind. The role of the server and those
being served in the film are not fixed but fluidly shifted around. The camera
from time to time catches up with the main film characters. A number of
Liew Kai Khiun and Brenda Chan, “Popular Music and Contemporary Singapore
Cinema,” Conference on Film and Cinema in Singapore, National University of
Singapore, Singapore, 7 October 2011.
46
43
characters, like the camera, move aimlessly around the area, adding vagueness to
the film.
The fact that the film lack causality in the narrative and goal-oriented characters
marks its position of counter-cinema. Bordwell adds that art films often employ
interrupted structure and minimization of characters’ goals. The story in these
films often lack clear resolution or comprehensible ending.47 These fundamentals
are explicitly seen in Pleasure Factory.
Unlike Hollywood or mainstream films
with goal-oriented characters, most of the characters in Pleasure Factory move
around seemingly pointlessly. Three interweaving stories of pleasure seekers and
providers during the same night in Geylang are added in a vague narrative and
discontinued editing. Furthermore, the story unfolds at a very slow pace.
The film opens with the old Chinese song, Chang Lu’s Give me a Kiss. Later in
the film, different old Chinese songs are used in number of scenes. These old
songs for all intents and purposes bring back feeling of nostalgia to the audience.
According to Shumway cited in Liew and Chan, music is a key element to create
the nostalgia effects.48 Liew and Chan further explain that “music has its power
to create the romanticized past for the audience even though they have not
David Bordwell, “The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice.” The Eurpoean Cinema
Reader, 2002: 95.
48
Liew and Chan, 2011.
47
44
experienced the time. The style and rhythm of the song together with the voice of
the singer represent the time of the music production.” The songs, the
representation style and slow pacing of narration signify nostalgia in the film. As
Pam Cook and Will Higbee and Song Hwee Lim have said, that the text of
transnational cinema always engages with memories.49
In addition, Paul Kerr describes the central characteristics of art cinema as always
including realism and ambiguity.50 We have seen that Pleasure Factory
intertwines three stories in one night at one location. One of the trios is about a
young soldier, Jonathan.51 The film focuses on his rites de passage into manhood.
In the film Jonathan follows his more experienced friend, Kiat, around, hoping to
lose his virginity.
The young soldier seems to be the only character that has a clear purpose in the
film. Later, Jonathan finally finds his sex mate, a girl from Mainland China
named Xue Er (played by the actress with the same name, Xue Er). Here, the
director uses the actress’s real name as the name of the character she plays in the
Will Higbee and Song Hwee Lim, “Concepts of Transnational Cinema: towards a
critical transnationalism in film studies.” Transnational Cinema, 2010: 24.
49
Paul Kerr. “Babel’s network narrative: packaging a globalized art Cinema.” Journal of
Transnational Cinema, 2010: 41.
50
51
Played by the then actor and filmmaker, Loo Zihan
45
film to emphasize the readily realism. The couple is seen sharing friendship, love
and romance. During the two young characters’ intimate relationships, the
camera lingers on the male and female bodies equally, without partiality. In so
doing, the absence of gender prejudice between male and female characters is
illustrated. Moreover, Xue Er is represented as having more sexual experience
than Jonathan. The representation of Xue Er’s experience advancement is
contrary to the masculinity of Asian male as a leader, if not males in general. We
have seen that eroticism is part of reality, an essential element of art cinema, since
eroticism violates the code of the classical norm. The erotic scenes between
Jonathan and Xue Er thus add more realism to the film, expressing its position of
counter cinema.
In Ekachai’s first feature film, the critically acclaimed Beautiful Boxer (2003), a
biopic life of a famous Thai transsexual or kathoey52 boxer, Parinya Charoenphol
also touches sensitive queer issues: gender and sexuality. Like Pleasure Factory,
the use of a prostitute character in Beautiful Boxer is employed to represent a
significant meaning.53 The prostitute character in Pleasure Factory is the next
issue to be analyzed.
52
Kathoey is now an ambiguous Thai word for describing male-to-female transgendered
people. Some kathoey consider themselves as female and may or may not go to the
extent of full Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS).
Oradol Kaewprasert, “Gender Representations in Thai Queer Cinema.” Diss. Essex U,
2008, 7-8.
53
46
Additionally, in terms of Thai masculine culture, the brothel visiting scene, also
appears in Beautiful Boxer to express the boxer’s power struggle between the
sexes. In Thailand’s sexual culture, the trip to a brothel is one aspect of male
behaviour.54 As James Ockey points out, manly tradition is supported by a “tale
of sexual conquest,” including any activities that are “opposed to tales of family
life.” Brothel visiting is included in this category.55 In addition, in terms of
idiomatic expression, there is a specific Thai word that refers to ‘experiencing
one’s first lesson in sex,’ which is ‘Khuen Khru.’ The term has another meaning:
according to Damnern Garden and Sathienpong Wannapok’s Thai-English
dictionary, it means to perform a ceremony to honour a teacher.56 The prostitutes
in Ekachai’s films can then be seen to be functioning as trainers as well as objects
of male desire.57 In Pleasure Factory, the male character is shifted from
traditional leader to the follower as Xue Er plays the leadership role in the sexual
encounter.
54
The aspect of Thai masculinity includes heavy drinking, womanizing, brothel-going,
seeking pleasures in extra marital sex and being a gangster. See Pattana Kitiarsa. “‘Lives
of hunting dogs’ Muai Thai and the politics of Thai masculinities.” South East Asia
Research 13 (2005) : 86.
James Ockey, “God Mother, Good Mothers, Good Lovers, Godmother: Gender Images
in Thailand” Journal of Asian Studies 4 (1999) : 1037.
55
56
Damnern Garden and Sathienpong Wannapok, Thai-English Dictionary. Bangkok:
Amarin Printing and Publishing, 2003, 62.
Oradol Kaewprasert, “ In the Mainstream of Thai Queer Cinema Beautiful Boxer
(2003).” The Paulinian Compass 1 (2009): 54.
57
47
The second act of Pleasure Factory involves a depressed motherly prostitute,
Linda (played by Yang Kuei Mei) and her underage prostitute daughter. The
story is progresses slowly in a minimalistic way with little conversation and a
non-narrative film form. The audience now learn that the unsynchronized
lamentation in the beginning of the film is from Linda and the older client. The
scene delivers a strong emotion of sadness and sympathy for all the characters
involved. Later, the client unsuccessfully forces the young girl to provide sexual
pleasure for him. The underage prostitute in the scene puts emphasis on the
Chinese superstition as Chris and Colin found that having sex with a virgin helps
reduce a man’s age progression, and if not that, it can cure venereal disease. In a
modern world, it is notable that the fears of AIDS appear to be driving customers
to younger girls and boys since they are considered more likely to be disease
free.58 The story, the use of Chinese language and the oriental-looking client are
the confirmation of the Chinese traits in Singapore. Although the country is
outside the border of The People’s Republic of China (PRC), it is still considered
culturally Chinese. To confirm the statement above, in their paper “Popular
Music and Contemporary Singapore Cinema” Liew and Chan cited the
information from Singapore Department of Statistics (2000) that “ChineseSpeaking Community still constitute the majority, as Mandarin and dialects are
58
Chris Ryan and Colin Michael Hall, Sex Tourism: marginal people and liminalities
(Routledge: London, 2001) 128.
48
still the most frequently used languages at home for 75% of the Chinese.59
According to Loo Zihan even though Chinese is used in the film, the dialects are
different.60 The different languages used in the film demonstrate the nature of the
film and the country’s transnational position.
In the film, a young man Chris (played by Ananda Everingham) follows the pair
of mother and daughter around in a meaningless way. Later Chris, Linda and the
girl end up at a restaurant with a table full of different kinds of dishes. Chris is
projected as an outsider English speaker who speaks English only. The trio is
therefore having a problem with communications. Hence their conversations
convey very little dialogue. The limitation of communication and the alienation
of Chris are parts of art cinema narrative.61 Adding another language into the film
is also resonant of transnationalism. The different languages and accents of the
actors in the film emphasize the increase of migration, integration and
multiculturalism of today’s national cultural discourse. Considering the world
market, using English and Chinese languages in the film would exhibit the film to
larger groups of audiences since the two languages are considered the most
spoken languages in the world.
59
Liew and Chan.
60
Loo Zihan.
61
Bordwell, 2002: 96.
49
In this scene, there are a number of close up shots of different wallets. Here the
wallets become important motifs of the film. The repetition of wallets in close up
shots is the visual icon indicating materialistic ideology.
Every time the film captures Ananda, the visual falls back on the steadicam as it
follows or weaves around the main character, thereby creating the home video
look style. The film furthermore counters mainstream cinema by using the
methods of unsynchronized images and sound, non-narrative form and handheld
camera. Chris and the other characters in Pleasure Factory are seen wandering
around heading nowhere whereas the characters in classical cinema mostly have
clear objectives and move directly towards their goals. The characters in
Ekachai’s film fit into the characteristic of art cinema. The lack of definite desire
or goal resonances the expression of the art form.
Another scene features a different pleasure giver, a girl in a red dress. The girl is
seen moving around the area and later emotionlessly trades a sexual service with
an older man in his luxurious convertible car. The expensive car, like the wallets
mentioned above, represents the idea of materialism. Afterwards the prostitute
pays a street singer to come to her apartment. The girl in the red dress is like Xue
Er, challenging male masculinity by shifting from pleasure provider on the one
hand to pleasure seeker on the other. The shifting position represents the equality
50
of male and female in the film, which is contrary to Southeast Asian gender norms
whereby the women should keep their sexual desires to themselves.
During the disoriented narrative of the three stories, the director adds interview
footages of Linda, Xue Er and other characters talking about their childhoods,
their lives and their desires. As Bordwell explains, characters of art cinema
always tell the story of themselves through an account of their childhood,
fantasies and dreams. In Pleasure Factory, Ekachai uses the documentary
interview style with the characters talking directly to the camera. The interview
footages appear inconsistently in the film. Inserting the footages in the middle of
the stories seems to be out of place and time. The use of documentary style like
interview shots emphasizes the director’s intention to insert more reality to the
film. The footage of the prostitute characters talking directly to the audience
about themselves is more or less echoing that the girls as ordinary people
regardless of what they do for living. The clips show that they have lives, love
and hope just like any woman elsewhere. In one footage, a motherly woman is
asked how she feels about the women who work at Geylang and she replies that if
the girls had more opportunities, they would not end up there.
In a country where films like Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), The Bird Cage
(1996) [and Formula 17 (2004)] were banned and nudity and excessive profanity
are removed from a number of films, the making and releasing of Pleasure
51
Factory astonished many people.62 The release of Pleasure Factory revealed the
modification of value and ideology toward films in Singapore. As Christopher
Chia, chief executive of Singapore’s Media Development Authority gave an
interview to Wayne Arnold of The New York Times regarding Pleasure Factory,
“We’re past that. We don’t freak out about these things these days.” Even though
Christopher Chia stated that the rigorous censorship in Singapore is less rigid than
before, in Pleasure Factory some scenes are cut out, therefore, the country is not
totally free from censorship. Interview with Loo Zihan, one of the film leading
actors, reveals that there is a scene of intimate same sex relationship when making
Pleasure Factory63 but in the VCD released in Singapore, the romance of the
same sex relationship is nowhere to be seen.
In conclusion, Pleasure Factory uses the art cinema style to represent one night of
pleasure providers and seekers at Geylang in a neutral way without any offering
judgment by the film narrative or style. The unprejudiced presentations of the
male and female characters suggest an idea outside the mainstream film in the
film’s cultural production.
62
Arnold, 2007.
63
Loo Zihan , Personal Interview, 6 October 2011.
52
The existences of diasporic the film cast and crew like Ananda and Ekachai are
increasing continuously. Their backgrounds represent a paradigm of transnational
people. It is not the film itself that is transnational, a number of the film cast,
crews and audiences are also transnational. At this point in time, it is questionable
if pure Southeast Asian culture and identity exist. Perhaps now, it is time to
cherish the different values and diverse cultures as the diversities represented by
the film cast and crews.
Overseas co-production does not only bring in the funding to reduce the risk of
losing the capital, it also creates a technical and cultural exchange. With regard
to transnational co-production in the 2000s, it seems that the trend will continue
and may develop into new and different ways in terms of technical and cultural
exchange. Hopefully, the transnational trend will bring in more capital to improve
the industry including more diversity and creativity to the Southeast Asian
Cinema.
Lastly, when a film is made in Singapore, the cultural influence on the film results
from different ethnic groups like Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian. The island is
one of the global cosmopolitan places noticeable as a hub of community and
identification for diasporic characters. Filming in Singapore is unavoidably
taking in the images of its cultural and historical context. With massive migration
seen today, there are increased movements of various ethnic groups, both in
53
Singapore and elsewhere, the island is rich of multi-ethnic and multicultural
perspectives. It could be said that when a film is made in Singapore, it is already
transnational.
54
Chapter III
Rao Song Sam Khon or That Sounds Good (2010).
Unlike the films examined in Chapters I and II, That Sounds Good (2010) was
made by a solidly Thai production company, M 39. The film contains
Transnational Cinema’s elements by using road movie genre. The film storyline
is based on border crossing, leading the characters and the audience to Southeast
Asian’s unseen locations. The film protagonists have traveled through East-West
Economic Corridor (EWEC) from Thailand to Laos and Vietnam. The road that
promise more economic flow in the region. The crossing border scenes manifest
the film’s Transnational position. In the midst of the film’s road movie together
with romantic comedy genre, the plot is simple but the scenery illustrates the
attractiveness of the film locations in these countries. The film is therefore
analyzed in this chapter in terms of its Transnational components, in relation to
the use of the road movie genre to relocate the characters into the specific
landscape.
Similar to the Sabaidee film, That Sounds Good represents cultures of these three
countries through location, props, and food. Most of the film casts are Thai but
the leading actor, Jay Montonn Jira has Diasporic background similar to Ananda
Everingham’s. Jay was born in Hong Kong to a Thai father and a Thai-American
mother. Throughout his life he had studied at international schools in Hong
55
Kong, Thailand and The US. Additionally, a Vietnamese actress, Elly Tran is
employed in a small but important role. Besides Elly, the film does not pay close
attention to any other local characters.
Adding to that, the two female protagonists are disabled in certain ways. One has
a severely short eye sight and the other is hearing-impaired. To my knowledge,
the space for disability characters in Asian films and most other entertainment
media is limited. The representations of these two leading female characters are
then examined. The examination also touches on the use of audio and visual to
represent their perceptions of the world.
The film is about a caravan of off road jeeps that venture on an Indochina road
trip. Like other road movies, That Sounds Good uses its specific location to
express national imaginary land, to reinforce the sense of “regional and local
belonging; the disappearance of (some) customs and borders, . . .”64 Their trip
through Laos and Vietnam is presented in the road movie style and carries the
implications of the genre. As Sharon Willis suggests, in road movie convention
the characters are different from the community where they travel.
64
Ewa Mazierska and Laura Rascaroli, Crossing New Europe: Postmodern Travel and
the European Road Movie (London and New York: Wallflower Press, 2006) 2.
56
Distinctive from the films analyzed in the first two chapters, the film characters of
That Sounds Good are alienated to the locals and rarely show interest in the local
cultures or people. From the first border crossing the leader of the group informs
the team members to drive on the right-hand side of the road to indicate that they
are in a foreign land. In Thailand, following the British system, cars are driven on
the left hand side while in Vietnam and Laos, following the French system, cars
are driven on the right hand side. The different systems also demonstrate the
effects of the colonization in the region.
The instruction on how to drive in different road cultures and how to work on the
four-wheelers in diverse locations are structured throughout the film. In the film
each car is not just a vehicle but portrayed as a film character. Each of them has a
name like Tu-Pla (fish tank) and Ngern (Silver). List of “car make up staff” and
“the four-wheel drive trainers” are seem rolling in the end credits.
The geographical presentations of wide landscapes enhance the isolation of the
area. Along the way the caravan is shot in very long shots showing the beauty of
diverse sceneries. The entire full length of songs would accompany the shots of
attractive scenery making it music video like. Here the popular singers in the
1970s and 1980s are employed to produce the songs. Together with the leading
male character who is a former teen pop singer and actor in the 1980s, their
57
characters, like other transnational films bring back the feeling of nostalgia and
the lost time.
Adding to that, later in the film, the film style mimics that of the silent era. The
narration is delivered in white typography on the black screen. The silent film
elements bring back the sense of nostalgia of the good old days.
The caravan is then seen moving from city to city and to the remote area of each
region, from Hwe City to Mui ne Desert, Pacific Ocean passing Dalad to the top
of a mountain range. On the top of the range, behind the caravan, there is a
picturesque background of mountain range covered by snow. The scene and its
non-tropical weather is a distinctive image from the perception of the normally
expected hot and humid Southeast Asia. The snow scene and the cold weather
make the audience wonder if such a place really exists in Vietnam.
When the caravan drive pass the city the cars are shot in a long shot showing
people living a serene way of lives in each city. Moving from place to place,
activities of the caravan members that seem to be closest to the locals are eating
their food and shopping in local markets, buying and bargaining for souvenirs.
The relationship of the film characters and the local people are strictly to the
economic exchange rather than the cultural one. As Uhde and Uhde state in their
study, there is also a disadvantage in transnational film, i.e. with the limitation in
58
terms of the production scale it could reduce or ignore the specific local culture,
ethnic and characteristic of the local people.65
Although the film characters and storyline do not have any profound interest in
the locals’ cultures or histories, That Sounds Good uses the market and local food
scenes to represent the uniqueness of the local cultures and lifestyles. In the film
a number of market scenes represent the characteristics of a country and life of its
people. Putting market scenes in the film creates nostalgia for small town. The
market scenes show a variety of local vegetable products displayed on a piece of
cloth on the floor. The ambience is remarkably clear with market activities,
cooking, bicycle rings, and conversation in beautiful small towns. The market
here is one of the institutions of the community. Though the historical details of
the places are not given, these scenes are full of peculiarly placid sensation of déjà
vu, of harmony with the past, that might, or might not, have been there before, but
has long since been forgotten.
One of these market scenes features the Vietnamese female character, Elly Tran
Ha. Her image is shown with prominent breasts. With the compliments of the
male characters in the scene, her breasts serve as the sexual desire and relate to
fetishism. In the scene the entire concept of female identity is reduced to the
65 Uhde and Uhde, p.5.
59
breasts. She is seen standing and smiling with limited dialogue. Here, the male
characters and audience are given the power of looking at her. The male
characters also have power over her by their conversations about her in the
language that she does not understand. Elly’s body is represented differently from
female bodies in Pleasure Factory where male and female bodies are equally
portray. More than that, the concept of reducing Elly into her breasts is
emphasized in the behind-the-scene clip. The clip is exhibited outside the cinema
theatres, at the film’s promotional screenings and on Youtube. In the clip, the
Thai female spokesperson even compares Elly to a cow. A numbers of online
comments also refer to Elly in the same way.
Compared to the Sabidee film, at the time of writing this research, Lao authority
would not allow any Lao lady to be portrayed in such manner. As Anousone, the
Lao producer, clearly stated: he would not trade Lao female sexual image for
money.66
Since the film also uses romantic comedy genre, the role of Vietnamese female
character could be explained by Andrew Horton’s study. Horton states that the
humiliation of the others with regard to their gender or ethnicity has long been
66
Anousone.
60
exploited in comedy.67 The comedy functions to challenge customary social
norms. Throughout the film, the sense of humor is constructed with verbal or
visual punch line, moment of shock or surprise, a system of logic of the absurd
and comic insulation. The film’s exploitation of Elly’s image could be read as
exploitation of female sexuality. However with the comedy genre, the seriousness
of sexual exploitation is somewhat lessen.
Additionally, Steve Neale and Frank Krutnik states that in comedy film genders
are rehearsed, explored, endorsed or undermined.68 In the film, the other female
characters are also characterized as stereotypical female: nosy, bossy, emotional
and irrational. Through their journey, none of the female characters in the film is
seen driving or navigating the trip. More than that, the film also demonstrates that
the female characters do not have any knowledge about the car. At various points
the female characters are projected as subordinates to the males.
Looking at the film through road movie genre, Sharon Willis explains that the
objective of the journey is social.69 In the film some of the characters do not
67
Andrew Horton, Introduction, Comedy/ Cinema/ Theory, ed. Andrew Horton (Oxford:
University of California Press, 1991) 15.
Steve Neale and Frank Krutnik, “Comedy” The Cinema Book (2nd) Pam Cook and
Mieke Bernink (ed) (London BFI, 2006) p.224. pp.223-225.
68
Sharon Willis, “Race on the Road: Crossover Dreams,” The Road Movie Book, ed.
Steven Cohan and Ina Rae Hark (London: Routledge, 1997) 287.
69
61
know each other before the trip, particularly the female and male protagonists.
They just meet over the internet and share the same interest of the outdoor
journey. Their encounter illustrates today’s social structures which are organized
around electronic information networks. Since the plot is a romantic comedy of
love triangle between one boy and two girls, their relationships are built up along
the journey.
Even though the plot is so simple, the film uses two eccentric characters with
disabilities, the severely short sighted, Ter, and the hearing impaired girl, Suntree.
In relation to Nicole Markotic’s study, he explains that a number of contemporary
films represent disability in three ways: “a moral metaphor, extraordinary heroic,
or a punch line of a gag.” Generally, Thai media seem to unapologetically
represent the disable characters in the last manner. Looking at perception of
disability in the media, Markotic adds that the satisfaction of the representations
make the audience feel “apprehensible and hilarity.”70
At the very beginning of the film, there is a voiceover of the characters briefly
introducing themselves. Their backgrounds are accompanied by their photograph,
retouched as comic animated bodies with a hilarious musical score, hinting that
what the audiences are about to see is a comedy. The comical image also reduces
Nicole Markotic, “Punching Up the Story: Disability and Film,” Canadian Journal of
Film Studies (2888):2.
70
62
the seriousness of the character’s condition. We hear Suntree say that she has
hearing impaire; she expresses her concern that she might have a problem
communicating with a custom officer when crossing the borders. Later, the film
shows the difficulties she faces in everyday life in a light manner. In the film
disability is not only her problem, it is also her personality. With able or disable
characters, the miscommunication is the key elements of humor in comedy films.
In terms of film technique, the filmmakers use sound and images to represent
perception of how the two girls see and hear the world. Here, their perceptions
are represented through the art of film representations. The film shows blurry
images to demonstrate how a short sighted person sees the world. Squeaking
sounds are also used to demonstrate how the hearing impaired person hears music
and conversations. Adding to that, even if the film does not involve the people in
Laos or Vietnam, attention is paid to the demonstrations of the disability from
their points of view. The representation of the world through the disabled lens
rarely exist in mainstream media or other kinds of art forms. The filmmakers
make their best attempt to present the two girls’ viewpoints in accurate manners.
This is evident in the list of sign language trainers in the film’s end credits.
Even though Ter is extremely short sighted, with her glasses her eyes do not cause
her much difficulty. The turning point and the conflict of the storyline occur
when her glasses are missing. Her experience represented in the film is “losing,”
63
rather than disability. What happens to Ter is not “the notion” that blind people
are trapped in a permanent “sightless” world. What Ter has experienced during
the time is the portrayal of the view that impaired sighted people are unsure of
their surroundings. Here, the unclear images of the scenes are used to represent
Ter’s point of view.
It is also interesting to see how the group reacts toward the girls with disability.
At first, they do not know how to react to them but later get used to their
personalities. Throughout the film the others question the female protagonist’s
disability, if they are able or less able, visible or invisible, handicapped or normal.
The reactions include gazing, gossiping, helping but without any sympathy or
empathy like the representation of the disabled people in other Thai media.
The female characters also question themselves if normal romantic relationship is
too complicated for them. Later, when the male protagonist confesses to one of
the girls that he does not know how to react to a person “like her,” whom he has
never associated with before. His confession resonates the alienated characters of
the disables in the media and everyday life. With the loss of two senses, hearing
and seeing, towards the end of the film, the characters express their feelings
through sign language and touching. The film does not look at disability in a
sympathetic or empathetic way except that they are just different.
64
In Sum, That Sounds Good is different from the films analyzed in the first two
chapters. In terms of production, the film is made by a single Thai company, not
co-production, rather, the film’s position of transnational cinema is gained
through its crossing border narration.
In the storyline, the film does not involve with any local characters. The cultural
and historical aspects of the places are also ignored. Still, the road movie genre
allows the film to show the beautiful sceneries of the locations with the caption of
the destinations’ names on the screen. Music is also used to accompany the
beautiful scenery to enhance the beauty of the trip and bring back the feeling of
the good old days.
The film actor, like in other films analyzed in this study, is a Diasporic one. The
female characters however do not rise above the stereotype of female
subordinates. The main female characters, however, rise above the stereotype of
helpless disable characters. Still, their disabilities are treated as the alienated
others. The disabled characters are not represented as a moral metaphor nor
extraordinary heroic, but a punch line of a gag. The romantic comedy genre also
helps the audience to see their difficulty in a light manner.
Yet, as more Transnational Cinemas come into view, not many of them touch
upon the subject of disability. That Sounds Good gives voice to the disabled
65
characters in the light manner. Their viewpoints are then introduced to the wider
group of audiences. Projecting these characters in transnational film should
broaden and deepen the critical discourses surrounding the filmic representation
of the disable characters.
66
Conclusion
The transnational age has changed the economic structure of the film industry,
including marketing and distribution, which consequently affects film texts and
their production culture. Evidently the Hong Kong, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese
and Thai film industries see the Asian market as a massive body of consumers
with substantial income. There are increasing trends of transnational castings and
co-productions. Numerous elements in films, such as international casts and
attractive locations, evidently aim at attracting the international markets. The
phenomenon of international co-production makes cinema develop into “a global
cultural form, however different its local manifestation.”71
In Sabaidee Luang Prabang, the elements of transnational cinema are used to
present the unique cultures, easy lifestyles and beautiful landscapes of Laos to
attract the international audiences especially cosmopolitans who do not have such
lifestyles. Sabaidee Luang Prabang is commercially well received by Thai and
Loa audiences and successful in the international film festival circuit.
The Thai-Lao Production mode is an exception due to the similarity of the
countries’ cultures and languages. This connection facilitates the communication
71
Roberts 62.
67
between casts and crews of the two nations. The Diasporic background of the coproducer and actor, Ananda Everingham, also manifest that today nationality of a
person is also blurred. As a son of a Lao mother, Ananda produced the first Lao Thai film in a respectful way. Under the control of the Lao Ministry of
Information and Culture, the film producers secure their position by producing the
second and the third Sabaidee Films with the same plot, casts and locations. The
audience however do not appreciate the repetition of the plot. It is hopes that in
the future the co-producers of Thai and Lao film will find the way to compromise
their creativities with the Lao authority.
For Pleasure Factory, the film uses its Art Cinema genre to challenge its audience
and Singaporean authority. The film employs a number of casts from different
nationalities. The casts and crews themselves also represent their Diasporic
characters. Transnational exchange has given a voice to Diasporic filmmaker in
Southeast Asian countries, while transforming the national by framing the
difference or accent within the discursive of Art Cinema. Producing film in
Singapore, the country is rich of diverse cultures, languages and ethnic
backgrounds, therefore national identity has become complex and multilayered all
kind of mixture forms. The film unavoidably represents the diversity of the
country surroundings. Bravely the film represents sexual subjects that are tabooed
in Southeast Asian society such as, prostitution, female sexual desires and same
sex relationship in an explicit art form. The release of the film in Singapore
68
surprised many audiences. Even though the rigid censorship of Singapore seems
to be less meticulous, the media there are not totally free. Since some scene of
same sex relationship was removed from the VCD released in Singapore.
Looking at That Sounds Good, the film uses road movie genre to gain the position
of transnational cinema. Unlike Sabaidee Luang Prabang and Pleasure Factory,
That Sounds Good interacts with the locals to the minimum and mostly in views
of economic exchange. The film does not feature the cultural and historical
backgrounds of the film locales. One of the local female characters is exploited
by the male gazes which never happen in the Thai-Loa mainstream film. The
different representations of females from the two countries signify that the film
texts could be different when they are made in different locations. What make the
film interesting are the disable characters in the film. The film represents their
points of view with blurry audio and visual. The disabled characters are not
represented as a moral metaphor nor extraordinary heroic, but a comedian. The
romantic comedy genre is also represented the difficulty of their everyday lives in
a light approach.
In Sum, since film is an expensive art form, the co-production between small
transnational companies gives hope to the alternative film industries.
International co-production will bring funding and revenue to the films as well as
cultural diversity. Moreover, it is not only the film itself that influences the
69
cultures. When the entertainment commodities flood a country, as has proved by
the Hollywood and Korean wave, these waves have brought values, cultures and
commodities, in particular, music, fashion, food and youth culture, among others,
to the country.
With an economically optimistic and culturally vibrant scenario, the future of the
Southeast Asian film industry is something to look forward to. Firstly, the
mixture of backgrounds and experiences among filmmakers should allow
audience the pleasure of a variety of outcomes. Transnational Cinema therefore
provides its audiences with more cultural diversity than the mainstream or
Hollywood films that aim to attract wide range of international audiences.
The flow of technologies and funding from more powerful sources could turn
production companies in a small film industry to international companies. In
terms of finance, international co-production expands financial found and reduce
the risk of investment. The co-production between different countries with a
strong marketing strategy for national and international markets, should result in
wider audience and increased capital for the business.
70
Filmography
Good Morning Luang Prabang (Sabaidee Luang Prabang). Dir. Anusorn
Sirisakda and Sakchai Deena Perf. Ananda Everingham and Khamly
Philavong. Lao Art Media and Spata. DVD. (2008)
Pleasure Factory (Rongram Arom or Kuaile Gongchang). Dir. Ekachai
Uekrongtham. Pref. Ananda Everingham and Lu Zihan. Spicy Apple
Films, the Hong Kong-Netherlands company, Fortissimo Films and
Singapore's InnoForm Media. VCD. (2007)
That Sounds Good (Rao Song Sam Khon). Dir. Kittikorn Liasirikun. Pref.
Monthol Jira and Rattanrat Eertaweekul. M39. (2010)
71
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Author’s Note
Oradol has got her PhD from Department of Literature, Film and Theatre
Studies, University of Essex, UK, sponsored by University of the Thai Chamber
of Commerce (UTCC). Before joining UTCC she had worked for Bangkok
Broadcasting & TV (Channel 7) and Safe the Children, Thailand. She has her BA
(Mass Communication) from Kasetsart University, Thailand and MA (Film and
TV studies), Griffith University, Australia. Her papers had been presented in
Canada, Singapore, The UK, and Thailand. Recently her paper, “Tropical
Malady, Liminal Film Liminal Sexuality” is published in New Asian Imaginations
by Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore. Now she teaches at Department
of Broadcasting, UTCC.