Puen Yai Jom Salat = The Queen Of Langkasuka ปืนใหญ่จอมสลัด
Puen Yai Jom Sa Lad = The Queen Of Pattani
Nonzee Nimibutr, the director credited with Thailand's cinematic renaissance, veers into historical fantasy with his fifth feature, 'Queen of Lankasuka'
KONG RITHDEE
Ananda Everingham plays a sea gypsy in "Queen of Lankasuka."
The palace is a quasi-Javanese structure of real wood and fake gold. A plush divan sits in front of a throne, upon which a royal emblem is intricately carved. Dust glistens in the shaft of light. At one corner, a large canvas partitions a bedchamber on which an injured general lies. He wears a strange mask that covers half of his scarred face. Two servant girls in shoulder-baring costumes attend to him, and when the princess enters they bow and leave the set, allowing the lady a moment of romantic privacy with the man who's just saved her life.
There will be quite a number of life-saving stunts and palace intrigue - as well as eye-bulging whale attacks, sea-gypsy sorcery and political string-pulling - in Nonzee Nimibutr's new undertaking. The director originally called his film Queen of Pattani. Aware how sensitive that title could sound considering the current southern spat, Nonzee has decided to rename his 140-million-baht historical fantasy Queen of Lankasuka, after the ancient kingdom in the Malay peninsula.
"Queen of Lankasuka" is Nonzee Nimibutr's boldest endeavour.
"Yes, the original title was a little too blunt," the director says during a break from the hectic shoot at a giant studio in Min Buri. "There's really no need for something like that now."
Nonzee's fifth feature film will be his biggest and boldest, financially and perhaps politically. The man who's credited as the force that kick-started the renaissance of Thai cinema in the late 1990s with Dang Bireley and Nang Nak is crafting what is destined to become one of the most extravagant Siamese productions - second only to Suriyothai. The script of Queen of Lankasuka, or Puen Yai Jom Salat, has been written by Sea-Write winner Win Leowarin, and it involves ambitious sequences such as CG-enhanced underwater scuffles, a couple of magical adventures with giant whales and deep-sea creatures, a feisty cannon battle among the warring parties, and locations as disparate as sea gypsy villages and the pirates' gunships.
Shooting began in early August at Koh Si Chang in Chon Buri. The crew will complete the interior scenes at the Min Buri studio, before continuing to Krabi and Phang-nga for the seascape action. Hold your breath, the film will take at least a year to finish, but its magnitude and ambition have already grabbed the attention of insiders and international buyers. The Bangkok Post is the first press allowed by Nonzee to visit his set.
"The idea came when I was researching my last film, Okay Betong, which took me around the southern provinces," says the director, whose previous work is about an ex-monk who goes to live in the southern township of Betong. "I became aware that we knew so little about the place, the people and the history of the region. There are so many stories worth telling."
Action star Chupong "Diew" Changprung flexes his muscles as Lankasuka's fearless general.
Among them is the story of the three queens who ruled Lankasuka successively in the 16th century. An independent state, Lankasuka was constantly under the threat of foreign powers bent on capturing this strategic port city. From the historical accounts, which Nonzee retrieved from Malaysian archives, the script seasons the tale with marauding pirates and sorcerers called Du-lum, who have the supernatural gift of communicating with sea creatures.
"I think the story of women who governed the country in a time of political uncertainty has a strength in it," says Nonzee. "And it's a story that we've never heard of before. Most characters in this film are based on true historical personalities, including the Du-lum sorcerers, who're now practicing their special talent by helping local fishermen locate schools of fish. But of course, in the film we add elements of fantasy to make it an adventure story that's more accessible to the people."
It is to be expected that any sharp political pinpricks, especially those concerning the stormy relationship between Ayutthaya and Lankasuka (or Pattani?), will be buried beneath the sumptuous weight of the gold-gilded sets. Queen of Lankasuka will centre on the three sister queens (played by veteran Jarunee Suksawasdi and newcomers Jacky Finanso and Anna Rees) who seek help from a Chinese cannon master and a sea wizard (played by Ananda Everingham) to counter the threat of a rogue prince and his clique of savage pirates who practice a particularly sinister brand of black magic. Jessadaporn "Tik" Poldee plays a Malay prince who adds complication in terms of a love interest, while new action star Chupong "Diew" Changprung will have plenty of screen time to flex his muscles as Lankasuka's fearless general.
The ethno-geography of the film's exotic setting works like a colourful Orientalist fusion. The cast consists mainly of yummy-looking East-West hybrids, but from the look of the set, Queen of Lankasuka will display a sombre mix of Malay, Javanese and classical Siamese visual flavours. According to Nonzee, this was the pre-Islamic period of Lankasuka and Hinduism was still the main spiritual force. "But we won't specify those details in the movie," says the director. "The architecture, too, is based on our historical research, though what we've built here is not the replica of any particular palace. It's all imagination, but one that's firmly based on fact."
He's gathered so many facts during two years of research that Nonzee and his writer originally planned a trilogy of films. But as his studio, Sahamongkol Film, is facing a difficult stretch due to the illness of its big boss, Somsak Techaratanaprasert, such a grandiose scheme has been abandoned for the time being. Nonzee will have his first Queen of Lankasuka, but whether there'll be a second is better discussed later.
Over half of the 140-million-baht budget will be spent on conjuring up the set, supervised by award-winning art director Ake Eium-chuen. And a big chunk of the money will surely go into the special effects - the battle of sting rays, the havoc of whales and the pirates' explosive campaigns against the walled city of Lankasuka. Nonzee has built his reputation as a Thai filmmaker who puts great effort into raising hand-made production values, and this is the first time his vision will be fulfilled by the digital wizardry of computers.
"I worried at first, but I'm sure we have an efficient special effects team working with us," says the director. "And most importantly, I've given them enough time to create the look that I want. I'm not telling them to finish everything in two months - I'm giving them a year. And I'm pleased with the some of the work they've already done."
Whether Nonzee's film will supply a metaphor, albeit vague, about the ongoing tensions between the South and the Central remains to be seen. He tried it once in 2004's Okay Betong, though the message didn't quite get across. But what's certain is that Queen of Lankasuka, if not anything else, will be ready to boast its sheer spectacle a year from now. You'd better start watching out for the whales.
Poster :
Director : Nonzee Nimibutr
Cast :
Chupong Changprung (Born to fight) Ananda Everingham (Shutter) Jedsadapawn Poldee (The eye 2) Jarunee Suksawasdi Jacky Finanso Anna Rees
Joined: Jan 2003
From: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Việt Nam
Ooh, such an interesting film, that Queen of Langkasuka is. Involving both Thai and Malaysian history, it's a must watch for me. I wonder why the article say there would be a "Javanese" element in addition to Thai and Malay? Weird. Whatever, I'm still looking forward for the movie
Well, it was the prime time for hindu kingdom during that period. Which is cool, coz it doesnt get many any exposure here in this Islamic country kononnya
because malaysia gov dont want to admit langkasuka more powerful than melaka. u know all our history based on melaka. while other malay kingdom they dont teach us.
Yup, origins of rulers like Perlis Rajas, Kedah Sultans, Kelantan and Terengganu Sultans and N9 YDBesar were much kept in the dark under our text book. What they taught us was Parameswara to Melaka-Melaka invaded be Portuguese-Princes ran and form Sultanates in Perak, Johor and Pahang? It's kinda wtf.
Joined: Mar 2007
From: Tanjung Segitiga Masonic Lodge
armour?
as much as i like cool awesome movie i dont think they should sacrifice historical accuracy!!
too stylised the way i see it!!
cool looking keris.. at least like this i can accept la. but full body armour?????
Added on June 22, 2008, 5:39 pm
QUOTE(xplodingbomb @ Dec 16 2007, 01:31 PM)
How come they couldnt do malay thai joint venture. lagi cool...
Added on December 16, 2007, 1:34 pmor come to think of it..why couldnt malaysia do somthin like this in the first place? must do stupid gunung ledang
stupid PGL? i think that movie is milessss better than your usual malay cinema crap. As for why cant we make something like this? easy.. money. when PGL was giving the national film grant people question why we need to waste 20 million ringit on a MOVIE. simply put malaysian film market cannot pulang modal. the highest grossing film in malaysian history i think is Mrai Mariana by Yusof Haslam or something. Not sure la but didn't even reach 8 million
so how can we producers get the funding for expensive movies with cool CGI effect. its easy to complain kan? easy to say our filmakers takde bakat. but the fact is to make cool efefct n costume like this movie cost big money my friend
by the way.. do watch pensel. cheap movie but damn nice story. i heard its not making money too because of the keagaamaan subtext. a shame really..
This post has been edited by obefiend: Jun 22 2008, 05:39 PM
malaysia has the potential to do something like this but too bad the ROI for m'sia alone can't really cover the costs...unless we can sell it to some bigger market somewhere as box office (first market)...not ancilliary market
in bangkok itself there's like load and load of cinemas...so the thais really can make money from their own films...hence why they're never very stingy in production costs...
btw - watch Sepi...then you guys will see that Msian films arent that bad actually..
This post has been edited by silbii: Jun 22 2008, 11:33 PM
Joined: Mar 2007
From: Tanjung Segitiga Masonic Lodge
QUOTE(samuraikacang @ Jun 22 2008, 08:29 PM)
this movie is historically incorrect at least by 14 century
16th century is already Islamic era and the dutch already occupied Malacca.
Hinduism already diminished in the MALAY archipelagos
and langkasuka is founded on 2nd century and last till 14th where it become the Javenese kingdom of Srivijaya tributary.
and wearing full plate armor like lineage2 oh come on.
PGL is better.
this will go down well with fantasy film lover. although i know this film will be inaccurate i will stillw atch it coz i love hoy the decorate the set. very cantik..
if i can say one thing about PGL... the istana set looks cheapo. the wood carving in the istana looks like syrofoam. that kills the illusion
I'm going to go see this tomorrow. This movie is more for entertainment not documentary so don't expect any historical accuracy. They only borrowed the actual event and characters from the region then fantasized, exaggerated the everything to make it more fun and interesting to watch.
The Art of dulum actually still practice today by local fishermen, but it is nothing more than the way to listen and locate type fish under the water. The movie exaggerate The Art of dulum that person who practice dulum can communicate with the fish and control the fish, even big fish like whale.
Anyway, I think this movie is going to be really good if you're not too serious about the history.
If Malaysia would make a big production movie like this, I'm sure it would sells in Thailand. Thailand is one of the biggest market for the world film industry. Hong Kong, India, Korea, Hollywood. All movies from these countries are doing very well and make good money in Thailand. Thai people love movies and are not bias racism when it comes to movies. We watch whatever is good. Hey.. I watch everything that looks good to me, except for Indian movies. I got nothing against them but I just can't stand how they sing and dance around the trees all the time. If they would just make normal movie without the singing, I would watch it.
it's kinda to see the thai's doing a film about the history of m'sia first...and seeing actors in traditional malay costume speaking thais and doing it stylishly makes me wanna cry...
i would watch this mainly coz of the curiousity factor...
Finally I got to see it. I have been a big fan of Chinese and Japanese period movies all my life. I love the sight of the ancient village, Sword Fight scenes, Samurai walking around. After more than 30 years the Chinese and Japanese cinema has probably maxed out their potential. I found these period movies very lame boring nothing new. I have lost my interest I started to read and do many research on many Southeast Asian culture and history including Burma, Philippine, Laos, Cambodian Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam. I have become very fascinated with how colorful and much more interesting about varies Southeast Asian culture than the Well Known to the world Chinese and Japanese. I kept wishing that someone would take some of these local legend and put into film with all these beautiful fancy costumes. I was so happy that there were many period film out in Thailand and then raised of Tony Jaa who shown the world how to Muay Thai on film. I couldn't have been happier and I kept wishing that some other countries in Southeast Asian would try to really get into film making and make Southeast Asia another competitive market. I was so happy back in 2004 when Puteri gunung ledang came out. It was a really good try but it was a little let down for me. I guess I was so hyped up about it and really expect extraordinary. Never the less it was descent enough for international market. This was never released in Thailand but I was lucky to have been in Kuala lumpur at that time. I am very fascinated with Malay, Indonesian, Burmese and Filipino Martial Arts. and I really wish to see Malay costume with Keris in good action, and finally this Film Queen of Langkasuka fulfilled my wish and it took the Thai to do it Spectacular. I really hope that we get more of this type of Southeast Asian period type movie. I don't care who make them as long as they're good.
Joined: Apr 2009
From: Back in Malaysia. So Stop Asking.
i just watched it yesterday. its a cool movie eventhough got mixed up with fantasies and historical inaccuracies. the characters varies and the set up costumes and environment are commendable. Malaysians unable to do films like this because we are too close minded. we are too Malay-centric when talking about our history. just compare with PGL. Through this movie, I can see the Siamese really understand the reality of cultural pluralism in their history.
i watched edi, good one....... the White master is like Master Yoda ....got dark and light side the battle scene is like red cliff 2 and the queen armor is curse of golden flower (minus jay chow la)
Joined: Mar 2007
From: Tanjung Segitiga Masonic Lodge
ok this movie blows..
editing = crap
stortline = muddled! like wtf.. the good guy siddenly becoming a baddie? the revelation that prince rawai is a ******* and all that shit is pretty shit. it started so well but then literally jumped the shark. the love angle is also lame!
action = due to the bad ediiting you cant see much of the action anyway. the epic whale mount was sadly underused
costume = ok.. this one is nice. the costume is bad ass. i want a breatsplate for my baju raya this year! its so awesome. but that is about the only thing i can say is good about this movie
in conclusion
dissapointment.. bad acting.. bad plot..
the only good thing about this movie is Princess Ungu.. she is so hot!
Joined: Apr 2009
From: Back in Malaysia. So Stop Asking.
princess ungu i ugly lah. see looked like got crossed-eyed. and her nose it too big.i dont bluff you but it distracts me everytime the screen shows her face.
To me the movies is great bcos Thai are famous of horror movies...suddenly comes this. Costume is great but the super effect still cant beat the FARANG...hehehehe. By the way, most of us are watching the actress more than the storyline.....
Storyline, errr... pirates threat? You got a huge kingdom and you're afraid of pirate threats? I thought it's more complicated than that. Oh dear. Then, editing. Or maybe the script. It jumped all over the place. You are unable to follow the story and the action properly. The English-usage while they're supposed to be Dutch. HA! Die-lor. The ending. WTF? Just call a huge-ass whale to smash everything else? The heck??!!?
The acting also made me cringe. aiee...
The good. -Prince Rawai is hot. Really hot. Anyone knows the actor's name? -Costume and set. Beautiful (although the special effect of the port...) -Prince Pahang with the gun. FTW! -Lord Jarang's action sequence. I know it's not a proper silat, but some of his movements are definitely familiar, especially his stand. - I'm glad they show some diplomacy scenes by the Queens. That's why with all the relations, I wonder why they're afraid of pirates. Surprisingly, from the pirates side, they also did combined their resource. Say what you want about Rawai, dude alsi knows how get 'em together.
-Prince Rawai is hot. Really hot. Anyone knows the actor's name? -Costume and set. Beautiful (although the special effect of the port...) -Prince Pahang with the gun. FTW! -Lord Jarang's action sequence. I know it's not a proper silat, but some of his movements are definitely familiar, especially his stand. - I'm glad they show some diplomacy scenes by the Queens. That's why with all the relations, I wonder why they're afraid of pirates. Surprisingly, from the pirates side, they also did combined their resource. Say what you want about Rawai, dude alsi knows how get 'em together.
-Prince Rawai is hot. Really hot. Anyone knows the actor's name?
Aug 18 2007, 11:52 AM, updated 16y ago
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