THAI FILMS
Monks in the movies
Whether saints or sinners, tough guys or buffoons, the men in saffron remain a staple of siamese cinema
Tonsured men in saffron robes are a force to be reckoned with—in temples, in life, and in the tricky terrain of Thai cinema.
Teng Terdterng plays the leading role in Nong Teng Jeewon Bin.
Buddhist monks have long been cast as characters in local movies, initially as the spiritual force that vanquishes all evils, and later as somethingmorecolourful, amusing, disputable and sociologically fascinating. On the screen monks have supplied laughter, tattoos, exorcism, diversion, sermons, morals, manners, even menace, as Siamese filmmakers continue to offer their disparate views of this social figure so inseparable from the fabric of Thai life.
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About the author
- Writer: Kong Rithdee
- Position: Deputy Editor
