Shakespeare Must Die

Retired automobile executive Kungwal Buddhivanid is a man on a mission, gripped by the driving need to cleanse and banish all murkiness from his country’s most shameful and forbidden—some would say, cursed—chapter of history: the death of King Ananda. After exhaustive investigation and experimentation, he began giving forensics lecture on ‘The King’s Death Case’ in many settings throughout Bangkok, including at Cinema Oasis just before the pandemic lockdown.

Terrorism proves to be the symptom, and not the cause in this documentary focusing on the Islamic insurgency in Thailand, a country already feeling the effects of a dangerously unstable democracy. The situation is seen from the perspective of outspoken Thai human-rights activist Kraisak Choonhavan, who, while making the journey southward, reveals an unseen side of the Muslim community. After living alongside Buddhists peacefully for generations, a large number of the Muslim population seems to have suddenly become violent. Over the course of just two years, over fifty Buddhists teachers have been killed. But why? As the Muslim separatist attacks become increasingly intense and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra responds with growing force from military and government, a mutual mistrust on both sides paves he path towards violence and tragedy.

A trip to post-war Cambodia as it turns itself into a business opportunity and playground raises the question of who gets to write history.

Rich young American-Thai Robin imports cult investigator Victor all the way from New York to Bangkok, to rescue his young wife Cherry Pie and baby from a New Age cult. On arrival at the Ashram of Boundless Love, they discover a far darker reality than even they imagined. Even Victor himself may not escape its devious brain-washing machine.

If you speak some Thai, it’s not hard to follow though unfortunately there’re no English subtitles for this lovely experience. Watching a cardiologist flip through fifteen books of nature sketches and notes, lovingly drawn and painted over thirty years, doesn’t sound like much of a movie. Instead of attending a lecture, however, we are absorbed and amused because our forest guide by art happens to be Rungsrit Kanjanavanit or ‘Dr Mong’, well-known Thai conservationist, bird-watcher and nature artist.

‘Singing at Funerals’, part 3 of the Bangkok Joyride saga of the epic 7-month long Shutdown Bangkok protest, records the first 2 weeks of the occupation of Bangkok, 15 – 26 January 2014. From superstar academics Teacher Lily and Dr Seri’s hysterical impersonations of PM Yingluck on stage, to the fatal bomb at Bantad-Tong; from a funeral march down Rama 4 road past Hualumpong railway station, to the government’s Centre for Peace and Order’s declaration of Emergency Rule, propelling ever more people to death-defying civil disobedience. As the endless literal strings of cash stream into the protest fund from the freedom-intoxicated multitude and the city becomes a vast camping ground, the government seeks help from its big brother Uncle Sam, prompting protesters to pass by the US embassy and the upset military to stir. The noodle cook-out at Asoke camp and the omlette being fried on Art Lane, as volunteers feed the masses, will leave you hungry.

A record of the "Shutdown Bangkok" protests during the 2013-2014 Thai political crisis.

As before, there is no narration, no special VIP access, no set up; only direct experience on the streets which those who rule the world do not want us to remember. Part 5 of Shutdown Bangkok’s forbidden history from 2014, that marathon exercise in mass ahimsa Thai style, covers the blood-soaked Valentine’s “week they killed the children”–in central Bangkok by RPG rocket and in Trad by sniper fire. As the violence gets more explicit and protesters turn police cars into installation art, reality itself, as reflected in the film, becomes correspondingly more horrific and absurd. PS: Now that they have the full taste of their own Mr T Rex, American Anti-Trump protesters might even realise they have a lot to learn from people they’ve been calling undemocratic savages.

A filmed record of the Shutdown Bangkok protest, from 26 January – 8 February 2014. What happened during the last elections, before the coup d’etat against Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand’s first woman prime minister? Does anyone remember or pretend not to remember? Fortunately that doesn’t matter, as this street history had a diligent and conscientious witness. This is not the story of the headlining stars, who are mere backdrop for the millions of real heroes and heroines—ordinary yet extraordinary people of every class, every age, profession and geographical region, now including farmers from upcountry who have reinforced the ranks of the Shutdown camps in central Bangkok to demand payment owed to them by the government’s rice-pledging scheme. Amidst the threats and attacks, distortion, loss and injury, how did these people overcome their natural fear of death and, just as important for success, their rage for revenge?

When Shakespeare Must Die, a Thai film adaptation of Macbeth is banned by the Thai government as a threat to national security, the film's producer treks through the corridors of power to un-ban his Shakespearean horror movie--from the Cultural ministry to the Senate and the National Human Rights Commission, all the way to the Administrative Court where he is suing the government for abuse of power. Wherever he went, amidst political upheaval, his director followed with a camera. The resulting reality cinema is the living story of a struggle for justice and human dignity, for freedom of expression, which Thai filmmakers do not have. A dark cinematic record of democracy in action, in all its farcical, obscene and heartbreaking details.

A record of the "Shutdown Bangkok" protests during the 2013-2014 Thai political crisis.