Bangkok Cinema Scene special: Bangkok Asean Film Festival, April 22-26, 2016

Movies from across the Asean Economic Community will be shown in the second edition of the Bangkok Asean Film Festival, which opens to the public on Friday at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. It's put on by the Ministry of Culture, with support from SF cinemas, the Thai Film Archive and the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand.

The selection has recent acclaimed movies from all the Asean member states plus three "Asean Classics", films that date back to the 1950s and 1970s. The entries are a mix of gripping drama, romance, comedy, action and a moving documentary. Here is the line-up:


Asean Classics

• The Snake Man (Pous Keng Kang, a.k.a. The Snake King's Wife) – An icon of Cambodian cinema's lost "golden age", Tea Lim Koun's inventive special-effects-laden fantasy is the tragic story of a girl who is destined to be the wife of the Snake King. The doyenne of the Cambodian stage and screen Dy Saveth is among the stars, and she is due to put in an appearance at the festival. Made in 1972, the film was released across Asia, including Thailand. Unfortunately, the first 10 minutes are missing. Also, it is Thai-dubbed only and there are no English subtitles, the only one in the fest where that is the case. But it's still worth a look if you are interested in Cambodian cinema and weird B-movie fantasies.
• After the Curfew – From 1954 and directed by Usmar Ismail, this social drama is regarded as a classic of Indonesian cinema. It's about a former soldier who takes up a vigilante cause against corrupt officials.
• Manila in the Claws of Light – Directed by Filipino cinema titan Lino Brocka, this much-acclaimed 1975 social drama follows a young man who has left behind his rural hometown and work as a fisherman to move to the big city and in search of new opportunities and a better life. He should have stayed in the countryside.

Asean films

• Yasmine, Brunei – Not many films come out of Brunei. And Yasmine is only the second Bruneian film I've ever heard of. Even more unusual, is that Yasmine centers on a young woman who goes against conservative society to join competitions in the Malay martial art of silat. It won prizes at the Asean International Film Festival and Awards and at the Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland.
• 3.50, Cambodia – Chhay Bora directs this drama about Cambodia's illegal sex trade, as seen through the eyes of an American woman who is making a documentary film and becomes determined to change the country's cruel ways.
• A Copy of My Mind, Indonesia – Top indie talent Joko Anwar turns to romance with this drama about a woman who works in a beauty salon who falls for a subtitler of pirated DVDs. Their love turns problematic amidst turbulent politics. The film was in competition at the Venice fest last year and has been a frequent entry of festivals around the region.
• Above It All, Laos – Outside of the Lao PDR, it's kind of hard to describe how groundbreaking this film is. But it is the first Lao film to have a gay main character, a medical student who is struggling to come out of the closet to his strict father. It also deals with a young Hmong woman who wants to break away from the tribal tradition of arranged marriages. Directed by Anysay Keola, one of the leading figures of Laos' burgeoning film industry, Above It All premiered at last year's Luang Prabang Film Festival.
• Day and Night, Malaysia – This is a compilation of segments by three talented independent Malaysian filmmakers, who all offer their reflections on the state of contemporary Malaysian society. The segments are Trespassed by Ho Yuhang, Bite by Charlotte Lim and Bedside Manners by Yeo Joon Han.
• Kayan Beauties, Myanmar – The often-exploited "giraffe neck" women of Myanmar's and Thailand's tribal regions are thrust into the spotlight in this 2012 feature, which has been shown at many festivals around the Asia-Pacific and won awards. The adventure story involves three young Kayan women who take up the search for a girl abducted by human traffickers. The Nation has an article from a couple years ago.
• Taklub, Philippines – Brillante Mendoza, the chief purveyor of the gritty so-called "poverty porn" films of the Philippines, directs this documentary-style drama about families attempting to pick up the pieces after their community was devastated by Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2014. Veteran actress Nora Aunor stars. It won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at Cannes last year.
• 3688, Singapore – Celebrated filmmaker Roystan Tan's movies generally have numbers in their titles and tend to be musical tales about starry-eyed dreamers. His latest is about a parking attendant who wants to be a singer just like her famous namesake, the Taiwanese "queen of hats" Fong Fei Fei.
• The Songs of Rice (พลงของข้าว, Pleng Khong Kao), Thailand – Talented director and cinematographer Uruphong Raksasad wraps up a trilogy of farming documentaries with The Songs of Rice, which is a tuneful look at the rites of rice cultivation across the Kingdom. Winner of many prizes, Uruphong's film vividly captures such unique scenes as the water buffalo races in Chon Buri and the rocket festival in Yasothon, along with parades, prayer ceremonies, alcohol-fueled festivities and beauty pageants. It was one of my favorites of 2014.
• Bitcoins Heist, Vietnam – Ham Tran, who made his worldwide breakthrough with 2006's post-war drama Journey from the Fall, is now solidly part of Vietnam's commercial film industry. His latest is a high-tech action thriller about a disparate squad of crooks and con artists who are tasked with tracking down a cyber-criminal. Out of all the films in this fest, this is the one I most want to see.

All films will have English and Thai subtitles (except for Cambodia's The Snake Man). After Bangkok, the fest will travel to SF cinemas in Khon Kaen from April 28 to May 4, Surat Thani from May 6 to 12 and Maya Chiang Mai from May 13 to 19.

In addition, the Film Archive will have a special screening of the Asean Classics on May 1.

Admission is free, with tickets handed out at a special table 30 minutes before the shows. Line up well before then to ensure you get a decent seat. For the schedule, please check the website. For more details, see www.SFCinemaCity.com.

Bangkok Cinema Scene special: Bangkok Asean Film Festival

Yet another free film festival is upon us with the Bangkok Asean Film Festival, organized by the Culture Ministry and the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand. Running from August 27 to 30 at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld, it will present films from each of the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Noteworthy entries include The Last Reel from Cambodia, Bwaya from the Philippines and Men Who Save the World from Malaysia. There are even films from two countries that don't really make that many movies, Laos and Brunei.

Here is the line-up:

• What's So Special About Rina? (Brunei) – One of the first feature films to come out of the oil-rich Muslim sultanate on the island of Borneo, Rina is an enjoyable romantic comedy by Harlif Haji Mohamad and Farid Azlan Ghani. It centers on a sad-sack advertising man named Hakim (Syukri Mahari) and his ladies-man roommate Faisal (Tauffek Ilyas). Hakim nervously attempts to catch the eye of his new co-worker Rina while Faisal competes for the affections of a waitress, who is also being wooed by an Elvis impersonator. Read more about it in an article in The Nation from a couple years ago.
• The Last Reel (Cambodia) – This much-buzzed-about title mixes contemporary Cambodian culture with the country's cinematic Golden Age of the past, all tinged by the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge era. The drama involves a young woman (Ma Rynet) who learns that her aged, mentally ailing mother was an actress in the 1960s and 70s. Seeking to make a connection with her mom, Sophoun sets about recreating the lost final reel from one of her mother's most famous films. Mom is portrayed by Dy Saveth – one of Cambodia's best-known actresses and a starlet of the Golden Age. The debut film by Kulikar Sotho, The Last Reel has won several prizes, including the Spirit of Asia Award from the Tokyo film fest and the Black Diamond Audience Award from the Udine Far East Asian Film Festival.
• Siti (Indonesia) – Directed by Eddie Cahyohno, Siti is a 24-hour slice of life about a young mother who goes to work in a karaoke bar, against her fisherman husband's wishes, in order to support the family. It is filmed in black-and-white, in the old-style 4:3 ratio. Critical reception has been fair, and Siti has won awards, including best actress at the Singapore International Film Fest for star Sekar Sari and best script at the Shanghai fest.
• Real Love 2 (Laos) – Stifled for decades by the communist military rulers, commercial filmmaking is finally starting up in Laos, and one of the early adopters of this fledgling medium has been singer, comedian and TV host Jear Pacific, who last year made his film debut with the romantic comedy Huk Ey Ly, which offered various vignettes of young couples and their comical antics, all in a slapstick style designed to appeal to an audience whose main source of entertainment has been Thai television. The quickly made sequel Huk Ey Ly 2 offers more of the same, and it's been a big hit in Laos, which just opened its first modern multiplex, the Major Platinum Cineplex in Vientiane.
• Men Who Save the World (Malaysia) – Liew Seng Tat, who made his award-winning feature debut in 2007 with the sweet boyhood tale Flower in Pocket, returns with a satire on contemporary Malaysian society with Men Who Save the World. The story is centered in a remote village that is panicked by a haunted house, inhabited not by ghosts, but by a fugitive African immigrant. From appearances in festivals that include Hong Kong, Locarno and Singapore, critical reception has been mixed, but perhaps viewers with more than a passing knowledge of Malaysian culture will appreciate this film more.
• Golden Kingdom (Myanmar) – This is a drama, written and directed by American filmmaker Brian Perkins. It premiered at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, where it was a nominee for Best First Feature and the Crystal Bear Award in the youth-oriented Generation Kplus category. With many painterly, finely composed shots, it follows four young novice monks at a remote monastery, who are left to fend for themselves when their abbot is called away on temple business. Critical reception has been fair.
• Bwaya (Philippines) – A 2009 incident in which a girl was killed by a crocodile serves as the basis for this award-winning drama by Francis Xavier Pasion. Set in the Agusan del Sur water basin, the story involves a young mother (Angeli Bayani from Ilo Ilo) who is searching for her daughter's missing body. She has to navigate treacherous social terrain as she discovers that the worst predators are not in the water. Bwaya (Crocodile) has won many awards, including the Best Film-New Breed prize and Netpac Award at Cinemalaya and the Grand Prize at Tokyo FilmEx.
• 1021 (Singapore) – Despite a huge Tamil-speaking population, locally made Tamil films have been rare in Singapore, but there is a movement afoot to correct that. Following 2009's My Magic by Eric Khoo, now there's 1021, a family drama about a teenage girl who after the death of her mother goes to live with her father, a lonely, depressed man who has turned to drugs to cope. Local buzz has been positive.
• Latitude 6 – Thailand looks the Deep South for its contribution to the festival, with this drama that was released in cinemas in July. Directed by Thanadol Nualsuth, it weaves together stories in a tight-knit ethnically diverse community in Pattani. The characters include a Bangkok musician and computer technician (Peter Corp Dyrendal) who comes to Pattani to update the Islamic Bank's software. Along they way, he falls for a Muslim woman, who is the daughter of a stern, tradition-minded religious leader who frowns when he sees the guy's tattoos. There's also a young guy who wants to excel at Pencak Silat, against the wishes of his tradition-minded father, and a young woman who deejays for a community radio station, caught in a love triangle between two boys. And the Army's Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), who produced this bit of propaganda, is there to lend an amiable, helping hand.
• Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories – Another selection from this year's Berlinale, Big Father is the sophomore effort from director Phan Dang Di, who was much acclaimed for his debut Bi, Don't Be Afraid. Set in 1990s' Ho Chi Minh City, the story involves a youngster named Vu who arrives in Saigon to go to photography school. He falls in love with his roommate, a shady guy who wants to involve Vu in various schemes. Meanwhile, the boy's father pushes a village girl toward Vu for an arranged marriage, and she becomes a third leg in an awkward triangular romance. In addition to taking part in the top-tier Golden Bear competition in Berlin, Big Father was also a nominee for prizes at the Hong Kong fest.

In addition to those 10 films, there is a hidden 11th title in the mix, Mart Payak, a made-for-TV biographical documentary on famed boxer Samart Payakarun, "The Jade Faced Tiger". Part of The Great Muay Thai Fighter TV series produced by Krungthep Thurakij and the Now 26 television channel, with support from the Culture Ministry, it follows Samart from his start in the ring as a boy and his rise to the heights of the Muay Thai world. It screens just once, on Wednesday night in a gala invite-only opening ceremony.

Following its run in Bangkok, the Asean Film Festival will travel to SF branches in Chiang Mai from September 3 to 6, Khon Kaen from September 10 to 13 and Surat Thani from September 17 to 20.

Admission is free, with tickets handed out 30 minutes before the shows. You'll want to queue up for an additional 30 minutes or so to ensure you get a decent seat. For the schedule, please see the SF Cinemas website.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening February 6-12, 2014

The Rocket

The opener of last year's World Film Festival of Bangkok, The Rocket blasts back into Thai cinemas.

This crowd-pleasing Australian film is set in Laos and involves an Akka hilltribe boy who is seemingly cursed from birth. One tragedy after another befalls him. Forced to leave their home to make way for dam construction, the boy and his family fall in with a pair of outcasts – an orphan girl and an alcoholic ex-soldier who is obsessed with James Brown. They make their way across the countryside and happen upon a rocket festival, which the boy enters in hope of changing his fortune.

Thai comedian Thep Pho-ngam stars as the colorful drunken Uncle Purple. Kim Mordaunt directs, making a followup to Bomb Harvest, a documentary he made in Laos about the tons of unexploded ordnance from the U.S. carpet bombing during the Vietnam War.

Winner of several awards, including a Crystal Bear at last year's Berlin film fest and best actor for young leading man Sitthiphon Disamoe at New York's Tribeca Film Festival, it was Australia's submission to the Academy Awards. Critical reception is generally positive. It's at SF cinemas. Rated 13+

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Also opening

All Is Lost – Robert Redford is alone in a lifeboat in this drama about a man travelling solo on his 39-foot sailboat. Tragedy strikes when the boat runs into a shipping container in the middle of the ocean. With a large hole in his hull and the radio and navigation equipment fried, he has no way to contact help. And when the sailboat takes on too much water, and the man is forced to abandon it and use his lifeboat. J.C. Chandor directs. He mightily impressed Redford when his 2011 financial drama Margin Call was the toast of the Sundance Film Festival. All Is Lost premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival. It was largely snubbed by the Academy Awards, which gave it only a best sound editing nomination, but it has been lauded at other ceremonies. Critical reception is generally positive. It's at Apex Siam Square, Paragon and SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. Rated 13+

Her – Spike Jonze directs this romantic comedy about a sad lonely man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with the artificial intelligence that runs his computer. Named Samantha, the computer is voiced by Scarlett Johansson, a role that won her the best actress award at last year's Rome Film Festival. Other accolades have included the Golden Globe for best screenplay and five Academy Awards nominations, including best picture. Critical reception is generally positive. Rated 15+

Charlie Countryman (a.k.a. The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman) – Plagarizing nutjob Shia LaBeouf stars in this crime drama about a young man who falls in love with a girl (Evan Rachel Wood) while travelling to Bucharest. Turns out she's married to a vicious gangster (Mads Mikkelson). Til Schweiger, Vincent D'Onofrio, Melissa Leo and Rupert Grint also star. Critical reception is mixed, leaning to negative. Rated 18+

Nurse 3D – Unhinged exhibitionist actress Paz de la Huerta (Boardwalk Empire) stars in this psycho-thriller about a nurse who dispenses a permanent cure to cheating men. Critical reception is mixed. It's in real 3D. Rated 18+

The Legend of Hercules – Twilight heartthrob Kellan Lutz is the mythical Greek hero in this epic directed by Renny Harlin. Critical reception is mostly negative. It's in real 3D in some cinemas.

Tai Hong Tai Hian (ตายโหงตายเฮี้ยน) – Thondon Nuansut, Thammanun Sakunbunthanom and Poj Arnon direct this three-segment horror with stories inspired by real-crime cases – a monk who sheds his robes to seek revenge, a passenger van with a checkered past falling from a tollway and a ghost in a building's ventilation system. Rated 18+

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Also showing

The Friese-Greene Club – A strange vision of the future in which everyone is drinking generic beer is depicted in the cult classic comedy Repo Man, tonight at 7. Tomorrow is a special event with cinematographer Ross Clarkson taking club members behind the scenes of how to shoot an action film. He'll show Undisputed II. Saturday's controversial film is the highly disturbing Salo, and Sunday is another classic musical, The Sound of Music. Next Wednesday's French crime wave entry is Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita. The FGC is down an alley next to the Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. With just nine seats, the screening room fills up fast, so reservations are a must. There are often last-minute changes in the schedule. For example, this past Tuesday a special screening of Capote was added as a tribute to the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. So please check the website and Facebook page before planning a visit.

Goethe Institut – There are three film events next Tuesday, February 11 – academic Peter Zimmerman will give the talk "Humor is Laughing Despite of It" at 5pm in the Goethe's library, the historical romantic drama Goethe! screens at 6 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center as part of the German Film Series in collaboration with the Thai Film Archive and the World War II drama Hotel Lux screens outside the Goethe on Sathorn Soi 1 at 7.30pm.

Alliance Française – Guillaume Depardieu stars in the 2008 romantic comedy Les inséparables, one of the last films he made before his death.  The show starts at 7pm on Wednesday, February 12 at the Alliance Française de Bangkok. It's at the intersection of Rama IV and Wireless roads, opposite Lumpini Park in the former location of the Suan Lum Night Bazaar.

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Take note

There's a new movie showtimes website, Moveedoo. It doesn't carry the schedules for Apex or House, but you still may want to give it try. Another showtimes site, MovieSeer, went dark awhile back. It had been circling the drain for the past several years.

The Bangkok shutdown is now in its fourth week. Following last Sunday's election, the People’s Democratic Reform Committee has disbanded some of its rally sites, including Victory Monument, Lat Phrao and the Rama VIII Bridge. However, the whistleblowing protesters remain encamped at Pathumwan (near Siam Square), Lumpini, Asoke, Ratchprasong and Chaeng Wattana.

During the day, it is generally safe to go near the protest sites, like say to see a movie at the Scala or Lido. But after dark, it is best to stay away from the rallies, which are guarded by scary-looking paramilitary characters who are likely itching for action.

Bangkok Cinema Scene special: 11th World Film Festival of Bangkok

Hurtling into its 11th year, the World Film Festival of Bangkok will open with the award-winning Australian-made Lao-Isaan family drama The Rocket and close with a new documentary by indie Thai filmmaker Nontawat Numbenchapol, By the River.

Winner of the Crystal Bear and two other prizes in Berlin, The Rocket is the tale of a little boy who is believed to be the bringer of bad luck after his family loses his home. So, with a colorful cast of characters, including a drunken uncle played by veteran Thai comedian Thep Po-ngam, he sets out on an adventure to change his fortune.

Directed by Kim Mordaunt, The Rocket won the Audience Award and prizes for Best Narrative Feature and Best Actor for young star Sitthiphon Disamoe at the Tribeca fest. It's also picked up audience awards at home in Melbourne and Sydney. And Australia has submitted it to next year's Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

The closing film By the River (สายน้ำติดเชื้อ, Sai Nam Tid Shoer) is an award-winner too, earning a special mention after its premiere in Locarno. It chronicles the 15-year legal struggle that ensued after a lead mine contaminated Kanchanaburi province's Klity Creek and ruined the livelihoods of villagers.

With more than 800 films submitted, the fest boasts a decent selection of Thai indie features this year.

A highlight will be The Isthmus by Sopawan Boonnimitra and Peerachai Kerdsint. The story of a little Thai girl who starts speaking only Burmese, it premiered last week at the 18th Busan International Film Festival, where it was in the New Currents competition.

Other new Thai indie features are Village of Hope, an ode to rural Thai ways by veteran helmer Boonsong Nakphoo, and Mother, the debut feature of young director Vorakorn Ruetaivanichkul.

There will also be a few Thai indies that have made the rounds already in limited release in Thailand, such as Kongdej Jaturanrasmee's Tang Wong, Visra Vichit-Vadakan's Karaoke Girl and Boundary by Nontawat.

This year's Lotus Award for lifetime achievement goes to Jarunee Suksawat, one of Thailand’s biggest movie stars of the 1970s and '80s. Two of her classic melodramas will be shown, Baan Sai Thong and Pojjamann Sawangwong

Other highlights of the Asian Contemporary section include Stray Dog, which is supposedly the last film Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang plans to make. Others are A Woman and War by Junichi Inoue, To My Dear Granny by Chu Yu-Ning and Innocents by Singapore's Wong Chen-Hsi, winner of best director in the Asian New Talent Awards at this year's Shanghai fest.

And in the Doc Feast category, a highlight is To Singapore With Love. Another is The Last Shepherd, about the last travelling sheepherder in metropolitan Italy.

Cinema Beat, covering the rest of the world, is where you'll find a bunch of other don't-miss titles such as France's Stranger By the Lake, which won the Un Certain Regard directing prize for Alain Guiraudie at Cannes this year as well as the Queer Palme. There's also Israel's Rock the Casbah, an award-winner in Berlin about an Israeli soldier in 1989, seeking to avenge the death of a fellow soldier.

And an oddball pick is Synecdoche, New York from 2008. The story of a playwright (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who goes crazy while spending his life mounting an immense living theater production, it's the directorial debut of Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter of such weird and wonderful movies as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.

Other festival sections include Cine Latino, giving rare exposure in Bangkok to films from such places as Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Portugal and Spain.

In all, there are 60 films from 25 countries.

The 11th World Film Festival of Bangkok runs from November 15 to 24, and for the first time it will be held at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld.

Look for the complete lineup at the festival website.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening June 27-July 3, 2013

Last Summer

Three youngsters are haunted by the spirit of their teen-idol friend who died under mysterious circumstances in Last Summer Rue Doo Ron Nan Chan Tai (Last Summer ฤดูร้อนนั้น ฉันตาย).

Jirayu La-ongmanee, Suthata Udomsilp and Krit Sathapanapitakkij star. Scripted by Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, the nearest thing there is to a rock-star screenwriter in the Thai film industry, the three-act story is handled by three directors, Saranyoo Jiralak, Sittisiri Mongkolsiri and Kittithat Tangsirikit, each responsible for one of the acts, which focus on one of the three lead actors.

Indie film figures Aditya Assarat, Soros Sukhum and Pawas Sawatchaiyamet worked behind the scenes as line producers, and veteran director Rutaiwan Wongsirasawad served as producer. It's released by the new production shingle, Talent 1. Rated 15+.

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Also opening

The Company You Keep – It's "prestige" movie week! Robert Redford directs and stars in this political drama. He's a fugitive former member of the Weather Underground militant group of the 1970s. After his secret identity is uncovered by an aggressive young reporter (Shia LaBeouf), he sets out on a journey to clear his name. The star-studded cast also includes Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Brendan Gleeson, Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard, Richard Jenkins, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott, Stephen Root, Stanley Tucci and Chris Cooper. The Company You Keep premiered in competition at last year's Venice Film Festival and won two prizes. It also screened in Toronto and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics for a limited art-house release. Critical reception is mixed. It's at Apex in Siam Square.

At Any Price – And here's another "prestige" movie. An ambitious Midwest U.S. farmer (Dennis Quaid) working overtime to expand his land holdings for seed-crop growing finds his livelihood at risk when he comes under investigation. Meanwhile, his rebellious son (Zac Efron) wants nothing to do with the family business and instead seeks to become a stock-car driver. Kim Dickens (Deadwood, Treme), Clancy Brown, Heather Graham and Chelcie Ross (Conrad Hilton from Mad Men) also star. It's directed by Ramin Bahrani, who made waves a few years ago with his indie debut, the New York crime drama Chop Shop. At Any Price is another selection from last year's competition at the Venice International Film Festival. It also screened in Telluride and Toronto and was picked up for art-house release by Sony Pictures Classics. Critical reception is mixed. Rated 15+.

Odd Thomas – Anton Yelchin (Chekov in the new Star Trek movies) is a young man with clairvoyant abilities who lives in a California desert town. When he isn't serving up flapjacks at the local greasy spoon diner, he's dealing with supernatural beings that only he can see. Directed by Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra), it's based on a novel by Dean Koontz. This is just getting released, so there aren't many reviews. Rated 15+.

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons – Stephen Chow revisits the Chinese epic that his 1990s hit A Chinese Odyssey was based on. He directs this tale about the young demon hunter Xuan Zang (Wen Zhang) before he made his journey. He conquers a water demon, a pig demon and the demon of all demons and then takes them as his disciples. They then embark on their journey to the West. It's at SF cinemas. Rated 13+.

Huk Aum Lum (ฮักอ่ำหล่ำ) – The Laotian film industry continues to make inroads into Thai cinemas. Can we expect more of this as the Asean Economic Community comes into play in 2015? A famous singer (Athisak Ratanawong) returns home to his village in Laos and tries to woo back his old girlfriend (Phailinda Philavan). Rated 15+.

Ghanchakkar – A master safe-cracker (Emraan Hashmi) takes one last job before retiring, teaming up with two dangerous criminals. The job goes like clockwork and the thief hides the loot. But when his partners come back a few months later to collect, the safe-cracker has no memory ofwho they are. This Bollywood crime-comedy is directed by Rajkumar Gupta and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur. Vidya Balan, Rajesh Sharma and Namit Das also. Ghanchakkar opens tomorrow at Paragon, Major Cineplex Sukhumvit and Major Rama III.

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Also showing

Marathon 17 – One of the defining characteristics of the annual Thai Short Film and Video Festival is the Marathon, in which all the films submitted are shown over the course of the month before the festival. I don't know of any other film festival that does this sort of thing. Featuring around 450 shorts, this year's Marathon starts on Tuesday, July 2. Screenings will be in the FA Cinematheque on the second floor of the Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Tuesday through Friday from 5 to 8.30 and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 11am to 8.30pm. The 17th Thai Short and Video Festival is set for August 22 to September 1 at the BACC.

Les caprices d'un fleuve (Unpredictable Nature of the River) – The Alliance Française screens free movies with English subtitles at 7.30pm every Wednesday. Next week's show is a 1996 historical drama starring Bernard Giraudeau as a Frenchman who is appointed king-governor of a tiny west African colony.

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Sneak preview

Despicable Me 2 – The mad scientist Gru, having given up his supervillain ways, is contacted by the Anti-Villain League to work for them undercover. The Universal Pictures animated feature features a voice cast that includes Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Ken Jeong and Steve Coogan. It's in sneak previews this week, with showtimes from around 2pm daily at most multiplexes. It's in 3D in some cinemas. Rated G.

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Take note

Hurry if you want to see Pachatipathai (ประชาธิปไตย), a.k.a. Paradoxocracy. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but political pressure may shut the thing down. And, it's only showing with English subtitles at Paragon. The other location, Esplanade Ratchada, didn't have them when I checked on Tuesday. Directed by Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Pasakorn Pramoolwong, it's a funny and frank documentary on contemporary Thai politics since 1932. Some parts are censored, with whatever they're saying muted and the subtitles blanked out. But if you know about Thai history, and the context of the discussion, you can pretty much figure what's being said. Showtimes are at 2 and 8pm daily through July 10.