'Big' South film risks missing the ugly point

COMMENTARY

'Big' South film risks missing the ugly point

Published: 18 Aug 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

I gasped, because it was the first time I'd seen an aircraft carrier in a Thai movie. Actually, it was just a trailer, and to stick to the cardinal rule of criticism, we won't judge a book by its cover or a prime minister by her dress. No matter how tempting it is.

The three-minute 47 second-long trailer has been circulating online for a few days, generating excitement, raised eyebrows, qualms and foreboding, and not just because that brief glimpse reminded us of the aircraft carrier we almost forgot we had.

The film is called Peetubhumi, or Fatherland, set in the deep South. The main guy is a young, fit, presumably Buddhist soldier who falls in love with a slim, prettily made-up Muslim woman - first seen in a full-bodied black chador - while violence erupts around them.

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ajarnbee
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Discussion 3 : 18 Aug 2012 at 10.533
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@#1: Given that you can't have seem the film, JackSprat, you're leaping to prejudiced conclusions here. Maybe the character simply wants to better understand his Muslim friend and her cultural background. As for "lessons in religious tolerance", why not say something about the ideological prescription of Buddhism as a core component of Thai national identity and the deeply alienating impact this must have on Muslim (and other non-Buddhist) Thais?
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jacksprat
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Discussion 2 : 18 Aug 2012 at 09.032
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"We see the handsome soldier clutching a book with the title A Manual for Beginners of Islam." The message being that Muslims may only marry "people of the book" (Muslims, Jews and Christians). The soldier must adopt her religion if he wants to marry her. What a wonderful lesson in religious tolerance.
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commonman
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Discussion 1 : 18 Aug 2012 at 08.331
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Keep it up, Kong.
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'Big' South film risks missing the ugly point | Bangkok Post: opinion