Democracy as a paradox

When acclaimed filmmaker Pen-ek Ratanaruang revealed a little over a year ago that he was going to make a movie about politics, he wasn’t surprised to be inundated with questions. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he was asked. “Will it be censored? Will you be able to stay in Thailand after the movie is released?”

“The questions showed me that Thais really have a totally incorrect view of democracy. It’s like a taboo or a concept with mysterious powers that makes people scared. It’s like fear overwhelms anything to do with politics,” Pen-ek says.

The film, “Pachatipathai” (“paradoxocracy”), is being released on Monday, the 81st anniversary of Thailand’s change from absolute monarchy to democracy.

Unsurprisingly, the documentary has been censored in five places. However, Pen-ek has not cut the scenes judged inappropriate by the film board but instead mutes the sound. The English subtitles are also crossed out so no one will know what it being said.

Pen-ek came up with this form of censorship after listening to the censors’ reasons. It is not, he says, a protest at being censored but instead serves as a record of the political situation at the time of the film’s release.

“The censorship board loved my suggestion. They like the movie but were concerned that the censored parts would be manipulated or distorted on the Internet and through YouTube and become a major problem. They agreed with this form of censorship and we went for it,” he says.

The idea for the project came from Pen-ek’s friend and co-director, Passakorn Pramoolwong. He’d never been interested in politics but says that when Yingluck Shinawatra was elected prime minister in 2011, he started wondering what democracy really meant.

Passakorn did some research and approached Pen-ek to see if he’d be interested in turning it into a film.

Pen-ek was, not least because of the frustration he’d felt during the yellow-shirt and red-shirt conflict, as he watched his friends choose sides while he remained undecided.

This is the duo’s third collaboration. Passakorn worked for the second unit and made the behind-the-scenes feature for Pen-ek’s “Monrak Transistor”. They later co-directed “Total Football”, a Nike-sponsored documentary about street football in Bangkok.

The two drew up a list of 14 academics and activists to interview to take viewers on a voyage through 81 years of Thai history through commentary, photographs and archival footage.

They’ve put a great deal of effort into the editing allowing audiences enjoy a film experience rather than a documentary based solely on rigid interviews. And while much of the film is still devoted to the academics sitting and talking, the conversation is lively and entertaining even for those who know little about the history of Thai politics.

Among the speakers are the acid-tongued thinker Sulak Sivaraksa, academic Thongchai Winichakun, who was arrested during the October 6, 1976 protests, Thammasat University professors Charnvit Kasetsiri and Nakharin Mektrairat, Parinya Thaewanarumitkul, the secretary-general of the Student Federation of Thailand during the May 18, 1992 bloodshed, and red-shirt activist Sombat Boonnagarmanong.

Others are Chaiyan Chaiyaporn, Ammar Siamwalla, Jiranan Pitpreecha, Thamrongsak Petchlertanan, Saranyoo Thepsongkroh, Worajet Pakeerat, Somchai Pakapatwiwat, Sombat Thamrongtanyawong.

While each has his own views, Pen-ek and Passakorn combine their differences in opinion to paint a canvas of Thai democracy, thus bringing a rounded angle to the story.

“There were three sides to every landmark of this journey,” Pen-ek says, adding that it was impossible to choose sides, as so much depended on the perspective from which an incident was viewed.

In discussing the conflicts in society, Parinya asks how much change we can expect when we hand over Bt10 for a Bt3 purchase. The answer, obviously is Bt7, but from Parinya’s point of view, the giving back varies according to the value of the coins with which we pay: a Bt10 coin, two Bt5 coins, five Bt2 coins, etc.

It’s a metaphor for the political divide in Thai society. “When people take sides,” says Pen-ek. “They tend to see everything through their yellow or red glasses. Red is always right or yellow is always right, depending on their affiliation. But every situation has its pros and cons and people should be conscious of these before passing judgement.”

Red and yellow shirt sympathisers watching the film will, of course, immediately label the academics according to colour but they would do well to listen to what they are saying rather than prejudging them. And while some faces will be inevitably familiar, the film doesn’t reveal their names or titles. 

Starting from the 1932 revolution that changed Siam and continuing through to the events following former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra ousting from power in the 2006 coup, the film covers several watershed events including the May 1992 bloodshed, albeit in brief. 

Pen-ek and Passakorn intend continuing their work on this project but say there will be no sequel to “Paradoxocracy”. Instead, they will conduct further interviews and blend them in with the movie, re-editing to turn it into a more complete historical narrative.

“I believe that the film is neither too deep nor too shallow. I hope the audience will enjoy it and leave the cinema wanting to learn more,” says Pen-ek.

“I can only use myself as an example, I wasn’t interested in movies until I saw Federico Fellini’s ‘8 1/2’, which follows a harried movie director as he retreats into his memories and fantasies. I was thrilled by the power of the movie even though I didn’t understand it. That film planted a seed in my conscious and led me to discover Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen, which finally pushed me into becoming a filmmaker,” Pen-ek says.

 

Candid camera

_ “Pachatipathai” (“Paradoxocracy”) screens from Monday to July 10 at Esplanade Cineplex Ratchada and Paragon Cineplex at 2 and 8pm.