Citizen Dog and Tears Of The Black Tiger director Wisit Sasanatieng returns with his latest effort and Netflix debut in The Whole Truth, a dark family drama with a horror twist that dropped last week and is now a top-five watched film on the service.
Best known for his distinctively unique visual style and colour palette, Wisit brings something different to the table in his latest project with darker, gloomier tones and an unsettling story about two siblings who stumble upon a strange hole in the wall of their grandparents' house that reveals sinister secrets about the family. The movie has been praised as a refreshing take on the Thai horror genre as it does not only focus on spooking the audience but juggles many different social aspects from mental illness, domestic violence, bullying, revenge porn, as well as laxity in Thai law.
The Whole Truth stars Sutatta Udomsilp and Nattapat Nimjirawat as Pim and Pat, two teenage kids whose mother Mai (Nicole Theriault) gets into a car accident one rainy night and enters a coma. Then, there are the grandparents -- played by Tarika Tidatid and Sompob Benjathikul -- who the kids don't remember ever meeting that have come to take care of them while their mom is on the mend. While trying to adjust to a new environment at their grandparents' house, Pim and Pat discover a hole in the wall that only the two of them can see. Besides being terrified by the very disturbing imagery, the two kids try to figure out what it means while learning the secrets of their own origins.
Life recently joined an online roundtable interview with director Wisit as he told us about the making of The Whole Truth as well as the concept and his inspiration behind the mystery hole.
The Whole Truth is filled with so many concepts and layers. How would you describe the style of the film in your own words?
Director Wisit Sasanatieng. Photos © Netflix Thailand
The Whole Truth is not exactly a horror film. It's more of drama-suspense. It has some symbols that link to the spirit world, but ultimately, it's a family drama. What made me interested in this project was the script [written by Abishek J. Bajaj]. The first time I read the screenplay, which was presented to me by Netflix, I really liked it and I wanted to bring it to life, so I accepted [to direct] it. Usually, I write my own screenplays, but this one interested me so much that I decided that I could not let it go.
It's your first time making a film for a streaming service, which means it can be watched in 190 countries globally. Did you feel the need to change the way you tell the story to suit an international audience?
There was no difference from my regular way of working. I do the film if I really like it or if I can visualise it. I did think of people who are not familiar with Thai films and foreigners in general, however, it was not my main focus. I tried to make the film more international, easy to understand, and not so localised. Family is a universal subject and family secrets is a universal theme. It's something I feel everyone should be able to relate to and I hope they will have fun with it, even if they have to read the subtitles.
Tarika Tidatid and Sompob Benjathikul play grandparents. Netflix Thailand
Each character in the film reflects the reality of Thai society, such as bullying and unfairness. Are these facts what you wanted to portray through the characters?
These things are normal in our society. But, it's not just Thai society as these issues exist everywhere. The issue of a generation gap also played a big part in this film. There is a grandmother and grandfather, who are baby boomers, and the nieces and nephews belong to Gen Y and Gen Z. Such generational gaps exist everywhere in the world, so it was not my intention to reflect this so much since I noticed it happens in all families. I believe this film is something the audience will understand easily because you face these issues, talking, understanding, and hiding things, in your own family. For some families, the latter is necessary because kids sometimes don't understand their parents and vice versa. Therefore, secrets within families exist, so I think the film is a general drama.
As you did not write the script yourself, how much did you change or add to the original and make it your own style and signature?
I'm not sure about the signature, but I tried to make it as good as possible in terms of storytelling. However, I like films that are visually intriguing and have good art direction, so that's what I tried to do in this film. I normally emphasise this and focus on my personal preferences in films. For example, in horror films, people say it needs to be dark but I don't think it's necessary. I think horror films can be visually beautiful but that's my personal preference. I don't know if that's called a signature or not, but it's my personality.
Sutatta Udomsilp in The Whole Truth. Netflix
The music and sound effects definitely stood out in this film. Can you talk about the music choices you made for the movie?
I like good music and I always try to put old music into my films. Sometimes I feel like music in horror films can create intense emotion but at times there's too much silence that makes viewers feel uneasy. For this film, I discussed with the team that ordinary quiet scenes, like the dinner scene, should feel like an action movie through music and a bit of unusual editing. The actual scenes show the characters talking over the dining table, which is an ordinary thing, but the camera angles and music will make the audience feel suspicious and arouse their curiosity, which will make them want to follow the story and find out more. This is what I tried, so I don't know if it will be successful or not. It depends on the audience.
Lastly, what is your opinion of previous Thai films and series on Netflix? And what do you expect of this film from global audiences?
I think it's their choice. For me, it was an opportunity to showcase my abilities and for them, it's a chance to try content not made for theatres. Not everything can make it to the big screen. Although some content is good, by working in this industry, I know that not everything is suitable for theatres as it requires marketing. For movies that make it to theatres, it needs a magnet to pull people in to pay money to watch. However, for streaming, I'm not saying that it's easy, but you have an idea of what works. However, if you take that to a theatre, people may not buy it. I think streaming is another interesting battlefield. A lot of Thai filmmakers are now working with Netflix, and their standards and production have improved a lot. It's a good opportunity I would say. I think we can't deny that nowadays everything is on-demand. Everything is based on convenience, so you can't run away from streaming. This is just another medium filmmakers have to experience or use to earn a living. We have more choices now and I think it's good for us to have various channels.
