A rocket-bullet plunging into the Moon’s eye, its mouth pursed halfway between a sneer and a smile. You’ve seen it before, but it’s time to witness one of cinema’s most recognisable images from Le Voyage Dans La Lune (1902) in its colour glory at the 8th Silent Film Festival in Thailand, the annual banquet of early cinema hosted by the Thai Film Archive.
The festival takes place from today to Sunday at Sala Cinema, the Thai Film Archive, with all screenings accompanied by live piano music.
This year, the festival is also part of the Thai Film Archive’s 40th anniversary celebration. To commemorate the landmark occasion, the festival will present “See Siam Through The Royal State Railway Film Collection”, a compilation of newsreels and films from the 1920s and 1930s shot by the Topical Film Service, Siam’s first film production department set up during the reign of King Rama VII (see sidebar).
Two silent films by Yazujiro Ozu will surely draw a huge crowd too: Tokyo Chorus (1931) and I Was Born, But… (1932). Something rarer and more intriguing comes with two Swedish horror films full of pagan witches and other Satanic temptations: The Phantom Carriage (1921) and Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages (1922).
Initiated in 2014, the Silent Film Festival in Thailand began at the Scala and Lido Theatre in Siam Square, attracting eager and curious crowds to many packed screenings of Hitchcock, Chaplin, Mizokuchi, Lang, Murnau, von Stroheim and other classical samplings of early 1900s cinema.
Once the Scala was shut down (demolished, probably forgotten now) and the Lido reincarnated, the festival has moved to the Thai Film Archive in Salaya – a little way out, but handsomely compensated by the 300-seat cinema with one of the best-quality projections in Thailand.
As is tradition, two silent-film musicians are flown in to perform live piano at every screening, Mie Yanashita from Japan and Matti Bye from Sweden.
The full programme is as follows:
Friday
5pm: Secrets (1924), directed by Frank Borzage.
From one of the Hollywood’s silent greats, Secrets is a romantic drama directed by Frank Borzage that tells the story of Mary Carlton, a young woman from a wealthy family who falls in love with John, a working-class employee. They decide to elope to the US, where their love faces even harsher economic and loyalty tests.
7pm: Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages (1922), directed by Benjamin Christensen.
A rare find from the Swedish Film Institute, Haxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages is a groundbreaking 1922 silent horror film that explores the dark history of witchcraft, demonology and satanism. This unique blend of documentary and fiction traces the evolution of these beliefs from ancient times through the Middle Ages to the early 20th century.
Saturday
1pm: I Was Born, But… (1932), directed by Yasujiro Ozu.
Yazujiro Ozu made 34 silent films. Even after talkies had come to Japan, he continued making silent pictures well into the mid-1930s before shifting to sound. I Was Born, But… is one of his most celebrated films, a family comedy delicately attuned to the smallest gestures and emotional registers, but also a movie that captures the woes and worries of the Japanese middle-class on the cusp of modernity. The story is about two boys whose father has moved to live closer to his boss, before the truth about the father’s real profession is revealed.
3pm: The Phantom Carriage (1921), directed by Victor Sjöström.
On New Year's Eve, David, a drunken and abusive man, is forced to confront his past sins when he encounters the ghostly driver of Death's carriage. The driver compels David to witness the suffering he has caused and to reflect on his wasted life. The film explores themes of guilt, redemption and the consequences of one's choices. It's a powerful and visually striking film that has had a significant influence on subsequent Swedish cinema.
5:30pm: See Siam Through The Royal State Railway Film Collection
In 1922, the Topical Film Service was founded, attached to the Royal State Railway. This screening presents the highlight of their film collection (see sidebar). Kor Pai Ensemble will perform live at the screening.
Sunday
1pm: Voyage Dans La Lune (1902), directed by Georges Méliès, and Paris Qui Dort (1925), directed by Rene Clair.
When cinema was born in 1895, cinematographers filmed what happened in front of them. A few years later, artists like Georges Méliès realised that the new technology could serve their wildest imagination through aesthetic fantasy and visual construction – the first science–fiction was born. Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip To The Moon) tells the story of astronomers who travel in a bullet-shape rocket to the Moon. The version showing this Sunday will be the original colour version, which was discovered in 1993 and restored in 2011.
The 15-minute Voyage Dans La Lune will be followed by another French surreal sci-fi movie. Paris Qui Dort tells the story of a mad scientist who develops a "crazy ray"" capable of freezing people in their tracks. When he accidentally unleashes the ray on Paris, the entire city is immobilised.
3pm: Tokyo Chorus (1931), directed by Yasujiro Ozu.
The work-life balance dilemma was investigated with sympathy, humour and compassion by Ozu in Tokyo Chorus. The film is a poignant portrayal of middle-class life in 1930s Tokyo through the story of Shinji Okajima, a young man who is initially depicted as a mischievous schoolboy. Okajima grows up to become an insurance salesman, and his life becomes increasingly complex as he juggles the demands of his job, his family and the pressures of societal expectations.
All screenings are free. Get tickets at the Thai Film Archive 30 minutes before showtime.
See Siam Through The Royal State Railway Film Collection
Marking its 40th anniversary on Sept 7, the Thai Film Archive will debut a compilation See Siam Through The Royal State Railway Film Collection. The collection of newsreels, documentaries, ceremonies and scenic images from 1926 to 1932 is closely associated with the recognition of film preservation efforts, which later led to the founding of the Thai Film Archive itself.
In 1922, Prince Purachatra Jayakara, son of King Rama V and commander of the Royal State Railway, founded the Topical Film Service. The prince was a pioneering figure in Thai cinema, and his new film unit went on to record historical events and quotidian happenings that took place in Siam in the 1920s.
Led by a crew of top cinematographers, notably Pao Wasuwat, the Topical Film Service shot royal ceremonies, traditional events, tourism films and government projects. These films were edited and shown in cinemas.
When the unit was scrapped after 1935, their films were slowly forgotten, along with it the oldest memories of Siam ever captured on film. In 1981, in an abandoned warehouse tucked in the compound of the State Railway of Thailand, Dome Sukvong discovered a trove of 500 nitrate film reels from the Topical Film Service. Realising the historical significance of his finds, Dome went on to persuade the government to set up a national film archive, which came about in 1984.
For the screening this Sunday, the 110-minute compilation features highlights such as the construction of Memorial Bridge – a sequence of monumental images and daring camerawork, including the crane that lifts the cinematographer Pao above the metal scaffolding over the Chao Phraya River – as well as a boat race, a trip to Thailand by American exchange students, a khon performance by children, a temple fair at the Golden Mount, King Rama VII’s royal tours and more.
See Siam Through The Royal State Railway Film Collection will screen on Saturday at 5.30pm at the Thai Film Archive. Admission is free.
