The cinemas in the Northeast didn’t expect a phenomenon last weekend, but they certainly got one. The sensation came not from the behemoth King Naresuan 5, nor the Tom Cruise-starring alien romp Edge Of Tomorrow, but from the low-budget, unmarketed, Northeast-set and northeastern-speaking movie Poo Bao Tai Ban: E-San Indy.
Poo Bao Tai Ban, E San Indy.
Made with a budget of less than 3 million baht, with the director selling off his rice fields to raise the finance, the film has struck chords with the regional audience and hauled in over 5 million baht from last weekend alone. Many of the shows were packed, prompting cinemas to increase the number of the film’s screenings, despite other tentpole movies in the cinema listings.
Poo Bao Tai Ban is now on the way to surpass 10 million baht — not much compared to the whopping 150 million of King Naresuan, but extremely huge for an independent production and exceptional considering its regional specificity.
In fact, you may not have even heard of it or seen its trailer. Poo Bao Tai Ban (Young Men Of The Village in the Isan dialect) was released exclusively in the Northeast, both in the multiplex chains and smaller, locally-run theatres in Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Maha Sarakham, Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket, Nong Bua Lam Phu and many more.
Uten Sririwi, the direcotor, right, and Jinnapat Ladarat, the producer.
In a striking case that betrays a mild form of cultural discrimination and the monopoly of Bangkok taste, the film was originally denied distribution in the capital.
“We originally wanted to release it in Bangkok as well as everywhere else,” says Uten Sririwi, a native of Khon Kaen province and the writer/director of the film. “But many theatres didn’t see much potential in a film about Isan [that has no stars], unless we had a budget for advertising, which obviously we didn’t. So we talked to local cinemas in the Northeast, and they agreed to show it. They first gave us just two screenings a day. When the film became a hit, we got more. We now have five or six a day.”
Bangkok, too, has finally given in. Following its early success, the multiplexes in the capital have agreed to release Poo Bao Tai Ban on June 19. The romantic comedy on the theme of homecoming, filmmaking, cockfighting and Isan pride, will be shown with standard Thai subtitles.
Three years ago, Uten wrote a script with the intention of making a short film. He shot some footage, put it online, and word spread. The authentic northeastern feel of the original trailer attracted fans — it clocked in 100,000 views on YouTube — and Uten proceeded to do what shouldn’t be advised to any young indie filmmakers: he sold the rice fields he had inherited from his father for 400,000 baht to raise the initial sum (his family still farms for their own consumption). Then he found a local investor, and the plan for a short film was expanded into a feature-length romantic comedy.
Speaking a thick Northeastern dialect, Poo Bao Tai Ban: E-San Indy is about a young man from a remote village who nurtures a dream of becoming an independent filmmaker. He’s also waiting for his girlfriend to return from Europe, where she’s gone to find work, but when his love finally comes home, she arrives with a white boyfriend, who happens to be a filmmaker himself. Some of the biggest jokes come courtesy of this farang character, played by Khon Kaen resident Martin Wheeler.
“Perhaps the northeastern viewers yearn for something like this, something that speaks about them in their own language, something made by a local who understands the everyday life and the atmosphere of the region,” says Uten about the success of the film. “I’m not saying that my film is better than others. I only think it’s genuine, and it touches Isan viewers who’ve probably never seen anything like it.”
Martin Wheeler, a Khon Kaen resident who plays a role in Poo Bao Tai Ban.
