Asia Times: Thai movie revisits historical wounds


	October 25, 2001	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Thai movie revisits historical wounds - and triumphs
By Chayanit Poonyarat

BANGKOK - Twenty-eight years is by no means a brief period of time, but it is a short one when it involves one of Thailand's historical wounds reopened by a film now showing in the country's cinemas.

That wound is the student-led uprising against Thailand's military dictatorship in 1973, which is the focus of a film on the life of student leader Seksan Prasertkul, now a lecturer at Bangkok's Thammasat University and an author of several books.

"It [October 1973] was the most precious experience in my life," said Seksan, who also wrote part of the screenplay for the movie, which features his story during the uprising against the dictatorship on October 14, 1973, and his five years with the Communist Party of Thailand.

It also remains a reference point for many young Thais learning about their country's more recent history. "Though I was born five years after October 14 uprising, I have read a lot of books and seen documentaries about it," 22-year-old new graduate Vipavi Vimon said of the film, Sibsee Tula: Songkram Prachacon (October 14: The People's War). "It is interesting to experience it through scenes on the big screen," added Vipavi.

The October 1973 protests led to the ouster of then prime minister Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, who had been in power for a decade. In 1971, he had abolished the constitution and parliament to further entrench himself in his position and institute military rule. Protesters seeking a new constitution and reforms, however, paid for their victory with thousands injured and nearly 500 massacred by military forces using rifles, tanks and helicopters. After the uprising, King Bhumibol Adulyadej stepped in, persuading Thanom to flee into exile.

Many refer to the incident as both the darkest and the most glorious day in Thai history, not least because of the many decades the country has been run by generals or officials backed by the military, from the Thirties to early Nineties. The turbulent Seventies, often called the "decade of student power", saw the fluorishing of the student movement. At the time, many were turning toward socialism in the aftermath of the communist triumph in Indochina.

The premiere of Sibsee Tula: Songkram Prachacon on October 8 was attended by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, cabinet members who were in the 1973 incident as student activists, and some 2,000 others. For many, it was an occasion not just to reminisce about the days Thailand was run by military leaders but to see how far this Southeast Asian country has since come down the democratic road.

"I came to the movie because I want to look back at what we did in the past and see whether we have really brought democracy to Thai people or not," said a secretary to a National Human Rights Commissioner Saowanee Limmanon, who was also a student leader in the Seventies.

"Though I realize that theme of the movie is about Seksan's life, I still believe that it can make the young audience understand what their parents and prior generation has been through," said Charan Ditthaapichai, a national human rights commissioner.

The film was not without its controversies. Previously, three trailers for television were censored because it contained live footage filmed during the 1973 uprising. Likewise, there was talk that the movie could be subject to severe censorship and could even be banned altogether. One trailer for the film on television was heavily cut. Scenes showing soldiers and policemen beating up unarmed protesters, pictures of the national flag, and the words "the first victory of youth - with bare hands" to describe the film, were removed.

Reports said the country's censorship board was worried that the film touching on the uprising is a sensitive issue and could threaten "national security". Board officials also said they had to be careful because there is no movie rating system in Thailand, and needed to consider audiences of all ages.

But director Bandit Rittikol argued, "I believe in the maturity of the public. My film does not defame anyone or highlight any conflict from the incident." He said he wanted to tell a story in cinematic language about people who made sacrifices for democracy.

In the end, the 13-member censorship board found no scenes in the film that were unacceptable, against the law, or so violent as to warrant removal.

"I think Thai people should be proud of what happened 28 years ago. It is the first time in the world that people's power can make change from the dictatorship regime into democracy," said the director Bandit, who during the uprising was a reporter for an English-language newspaper in Bangkok.

Seksan and Bandit have one problem with the movie, though. Its Thai title was changed to Khonlajan or The Moon Hunter, because the movie production house argued that the old title was not marketable.

Some moviegoers agree this was a mistake, saying the new title with the phrase "people's war" made them expect a movie about the uprising itself, when it is actually more about Seksan's life.

"It might be the name of the movie that made my friends and I expect to see the power of the people calling for democracy, more than a biography of Seksan alone. I think naming it The Moon Hunter would have been more relevant," remarked Vipavi.

The change in the title prompted most movie critics to say the film failed to deliver what its name had promised - and Seksan blamed it for creating misunderstanding among critics and audiences. "The story was supposed to be about the trials of a colorful man caught up in turbulent times, but this is not reflected by the new title," said Seksan.

If the movie appeared lopsided in its depiction of the October 14 uprising, Seksan says, it was because it was meant to be a personal story, not a historical one.

Seksan's character as The Moon Hunter is from a joke among his friends. As they were fleeing from the military government in the jungle, Seksan woke up in the middle of the night and thought he was under attack. He was getting ready to defend himself, then realized that it was just the moonlight that had roused him.

Seksan says "moon hunter" also characterized his days as a radical student leader fighting the military government, as symbolized by the moonlight he was always chasing - a metaphor for a goal one cannot or can hardly achieve.

After those tumultuous days as a student leader in the Seventies, Seksan had to leave the Communist Party and went back to his studies.

Meanwhile, the story of the October 1973 uprising continues, if in different ways. The Education Ministry recently tried to produce a textbook of the October 14 incident as supplementary reading for secondary schools.

On this year's anniversary of the uprising, an October 14 monument was unveiled in Bangkok after 28 years of controversy about its construction.

Relatives of those killed on October 14, 1973, called on the Thai government to declare a "Day of Rights and Freedom of the People", and for every anniversary to be marked by a state event to honor the heroes of democracy.

Thaksin also found himself in a storm of controversy as during the unveiling of the monument he called on the Thai people to more or less "forgive and forget" and exhorted the country to leave the bitter past behind. In doing so, he drew the outrage of democracy activists.

(Inter Press Service)