Released last Wednesday, “Once Upon a Star” premiered on Netflix Thailand to rave reviews. The latest from director Nonzee Nimibutr—previously of the likes of “Nang Nak” and “Jan Dara”—chronicles the friendships and memories that blossomed from the traveling pharma-cinema projection troupe.

 

“[The troupes] would screen the pictures for free, in exchange for a little advertisement break in between the film,” Nonzee tells BK about the old pharma-cinema groups, adding that they wouldn’t resume the film until they’d hit their sales target. “I remember when they would sell bowel-cleansing medicine, they'd put these tapeworms in a display jar. It was really freaky! You definitely wouldn’t catch that in a cinema today.”

 

Starring familiar Thai stars, Manit, played by Sukollawat "Weir" Kanarot, leads his mighty mobile projection team on a cross-country journey, providing entertainment by live-dubbing silent 16mm films. To survive the emergence of 35 mm talkies, TV broadcasts, and Hollywood, the crew hires female dubber Kae, played by Nuengthida "Noona" Sophon. 

 

Fans are likening this to a Thai version of Damien Chazel’s “Babylon,” a tribute to the silent movie era. This diverges with a focus on the halcyon days of Thai open air cinema, the charms of improv live dubbing, and characterization of the real-life 1970s film star Mitr Chaibancha whose untimely death from a helicopter stunt caused a dip in the popularity of 16mm films. At its core, this is a nostalgic road trip movie that immortalizes the collective experience of cinema, and the compromise you make for dreams to come true.
 

 

 

However, the business didn’t become a nation-wide phenomenon until the Cold War—spreading information, entertainment, and anti-commmunist propaganda. This boom gave birth to many types of open air cinema services including the pharma-cinema troupes seen in “Once Upon a Star.” 

 

 

The director’s home was conveniently located right behind the temple where many locals would meet up for these screenings. With merchants setting up pop-up stalls, the selection of movie snacks were plentiful. “Usually, there would be manually shaken popcorn, giant rice krispies (kao crepe wow), sliced up sugarcane, and we’d just camp out on banana leaves or newspapers.”

 

At its peak, people would hire these mobile cinema groups to play at funerals, weddings, carnivals, and more. Sometimes there would be “battle of screenings” which is when more than one troupe would screen side by side to see who would win. Studies have shown that 16mm films could cost B200,000-400,000 whereas 35 mm films would take five times the price.

 

 

Live dubbers could make or break a session. The OG talents had to manipulate their voices into various tones, breathing life into a motley crew of characters such as the leading man, the ingenuine, the villain, the old man, and other random sound effects.

 

“A good dub artist would usually have the script memorized and throw in some jokes or tease the audiences on the spot. It adds value to this form of entertainment, reinterpreting tense scenes by adding a sense of humor,” The director tells BK. 

 

 

“Once Upon a Star” centers around a very real star, Mitr Chaibancha. He worked on more than 40 movies a year, the film points out, including action, romance, and tragedy. The star worked his fingers to the proverbial bone for 13 years. 

 

“When I was young, I’d sneakily run off to collect the film slides that the projectionist would chuck away during the show,” Nonzee says. “We’d use a flashlight to project the image against our bedroom’s mosquito net. If the slides happen to have Mitr in it, we would be even more ecstatic.” 

 

The reason he could star in more than 300 films in a few years is because 16mm films were easily made: shot with positive film stock, developed, edited, and dubbed live. On the downside, “There’d only be one copy that gets passed around, from first class, to second class cinemas, to other outdoor screening services, and by the time it reaches the pharma-cinema companies, these films would have a lot of wear and tear” Nonzee explains, adding that “Mitr’s films today still have scratches after being digitized.”

 

 

Today, outdoor cinema is relegated to a relic of the past. If not for movie festivals like Krung Thep Klang Plaeng and films like “Once Upon a Star,” it might be forgotten. It’s ironic that a film championing the collective experience of watching in-person storytelling will not even be screened in indoor cinemas. 

 

“Me and my friend and screenwriter Ek Lemchuen wanted to make this film even before Covid but we knew it wouldn’t be easy. Traditional investors might be skeptical of the movie’s profitability, and we’d have to admit that the budget is quite high,” Nonzee says. “In the finished product, for example, all the prop cars are built from scratch. So when streaming services slowly trickled into Thailand, the opportunity was made possible, and I’d like to thank Netflix for that.”

 

Nonzee also told BK that the industry lacks diverse content and sufficient film production companies. He says “To become a strong industry, we need more investors, more companies but now it seems like we’re following the trends. If a certain genre becomes a hit such as ghost films, teen flicks, a lot of people will go toward making it. There isn’t enough variety in the content which means there are even fewer options for audiences.”

 

Nonzee echoes Manit’s sentiments in the film: “Times have changed. If I don’t move forward then I’m betraying the job that I love.”