10 Thai movies to watch in the cinema and at home this month
Haven’t you heard? Thai cinema is back!
5 months ago
After suffering from the pandemic, the Thai entertainment industry is finally finding its footing at the tail end of 2023. This month’s offerings include local blockbusters, internationally acclaimed indie darlings, and classic comebacks. Read on for a list of horror, rom-com, drama, and social commentary films—all coming this November.
Note: For non-Thai speakers, English subtitles are usually available in major cinemas across the country and on streaming services.
Tee Yod (Death Whisperer)
Photo: Tee Yod promotional image / SF cinema
Based on a popular story on the Thai internet forum “Pantip,” Tee Yod is a bone-chilling tale following the mysterious death of a young villager. Set in 1972, Kanchanaburi, the story kicks off when Yak (Nadech Kugimiya) returns home to help out the family business, only to slowly uncover strange events that have been happening in his hometown.
Release date: Oct 26
Platform: Thailand cinemas
Not Friends
Photo: Not Friends promotional image / GDH
Already listed as a Thai entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards, “Not Friends” stars Anthony Buisseret as Pae, a final year high school student who decided to make a short film about a friend that recently passed away. His goal was to create a quick tear-jerker for a university admissions program. The catch? Pae barely knew the “friend” at all.
Release date: Oct 26
Platform: Thailand cinemas
Love Live Love!
Photo: Long Live Love! / imdb
A tale as old as time. This streamer film follows a broken couple: Sati (Sunny Suwanmethanont) and Meta (Araya A. Hargate) whose relationship has run its course due to Sati’s inability to keep promises. But before they can separate for good, Sati gets into an accident and wakes up with amnesia. Piecing together his lost memory through old photographs, Sati is forced to confront the ramifications of his past.
Release date: Oct 26
Platform: Netflix
Red Life
Photo: Red Life / Brandthink cinema
Premiering at the Tokyo International Film Festival, this social commentary is a romantic and familial love story that uncovers the underbelly of Thai society with marginalized identities. The cast features up-and-coming actors and teen favorites Thiti “Bank” Mahayotarak as Ter and Sumitra “Fye” Duangkaew as Peach. Learn more here.
Release date: Nov 2
Platform: Thailand cinemas
OK Baytong
Photo: OK Baytong / The Movie Database
Written and directed by Nonzee Nimibutr of the recent hit “Once Upon a Star,” the 2003 drama “OK Baytong” follows a man who had to leave monkhood to take care of his young niece on the Malaysia-Thailand border. The film is remembered for depicting the tensions between buddhist and muslim communities in the south of Thailand, now re-released on streaming service Netflix.
Release date: Nov 3
Platform: Netflix
Naga Folklore
A comprehensive take on the mythical Naga subgenre, the film is a collection of eight short stories directed by budding directors from Thailand and Laos. To illustrate the lore and its ties with Mekong culture, the story touches on subjects like naga fireball rituals, Buddhism, and myths.
Release date: Nov 9
Platform: Thailand cinemas
Distortion
Photo: Distortion / sahamongkol filmAnother classic from director Nonzee Nimibutr that’s hitting Netflix this November, Distortion follows the entanglement of a psychologist, a scientist, a businessman, and student who are all connected to a string of murders. The psychological thriller won the Thailand Script Project Award back in 2010 and is ready to incite trust issues in its audience.
Release date: Nov 11
Platform: Netflix
Arnold is a Model Student
Directed by Sorayos Prapapan, this modern satire of Thai culture is cleverly told through a high school student. In exchange for a huge sum of money, the highly decorated student Arnold decides to help cheat on a prestigious military school entrance exam. The event shifts his views on morality and Thai society forever.
Release date: Nov 23
Platform: Thailand cinemas
Doi Boy
Photo: Doi Boy / Netflix
Premiering at Busan International Film Festival, the highly anticipated Thai Netflix movie reflects the struggles of a Myanmar refugee who became a sex worker in Chiang Mai. His fate takes an even darker turn when he meets a local police officer and a political activist who was forced to “disappear.”
Release date: Nov 24
Platform: Netflix
4 Kings II
Photo: 4 Kings II / SF cinema
After the success of Puttipong Nakthong’s first installment of 4 Kings, the sequel aims to shed light on the on-going conflict between Thai technician colleges. This second film centers around the revenge plans of Yard (D Gerrard), a young drug trafficker whose family fell victim to these rival gangs.
Release date: Nov 30
Platform: Thailand cinemas
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