In Bon Srolanh Oun, the spirit of a Khmer woman lingers like an abandoned lover in a room. There's a Thai man, or actually two, and their treatment of the forgotten ghost is the backbone of this moody, atmospheric film by director Siwaporn Pongsuwan. Bon Srolanh Oun is a Thai movie with a Cambodian title — the meaning of which shouldn't be revealed here, as it's a mini-spoiler — featuring a Thai and Khmer cast, as well as locations in Bangkok and Phnom Penh, and a narrative that smuggles in sly commentary on Thai-Cambodian relationships.
The film is heavy on mood, though a little light on plot. Its strategy of concealing some and revealing even less is sometimes stimulating, sometimes frustrating. At the centre of it is Don (Ray McDonald), a graphic designer who lives in a flat that also houses the spirit of an unknown woman. Mysterious deaths of innocent women follow, and Don decides to travel to the rural outskirts of Phnom Penh to find out about the previous tenant of his jinxed room.
Funded by TrueVisions Original Pictures, a cable channel, the film rides on the Asean bandwagon with its Cambodian elements, and features two impressive performances by Khmer stars: Saray Sakona plays the lovelorn ghost, and Dy Saveth, the legendary Cambodian actress who Thais might remember from her roles in horror films of the 1970s, plays her mother.
Director Siwapon, a former critic who directed her first film in 2006, spoke with Life about her new film. Bon Srolanh Oun opens today, with English subtitles.
The film takes place mostly in one room. How did you come up with that premise?
Director Siwaporn Pongsuwan.
I once helped a friend move out of a room and I felt something — like, was there another person in that room? Was there something we couldn't see? In the film, Don doesn't go anywhere else except his office and his room [except when he travels to Cambodia]. I wanted him to be seen in that closed, controlled atmosphere.
You're a big fan of horror films. What kind of ghost stories do you like, and why do some horror films work and others don't?
I like everything, from The Exorcist to Asian horror films like The Maid, Ju-on, Silk and new films such as Insidious 2 and The Conjuring. People often say that we should try to come up with "new ways" to tell ghost stories — to depart from the same storytelling tradition. But in my view, I don't think we have to labour to do that. A good ghost story is about playing with the audience, about building up the mood of dread. If you can do that well, you can tell a good ghost story.
How did the Cambodian elements come into the script?
Some Thai people perceive Cambodia as a land of superstition. We think of the place as dark and primitive, but I don't want to promote that stereotype. There are ghosts in Laos, in Vietnam and in Cambodia, but those places don't have to be a den of demons and witchcraft. The Cambodia you see in the film is different. Also, I shot commercials in Phnom Penh before and I know the crew there. I went scouting a few times before and I had a clear image of what I wanted to do.
The scenes in Bangkok are dark and claustrophobic, but the scenes in Cambodia are very bright and full of life. Is this something you planned from the start?
Yes. I don't want to show you the familiar images of rubbish heaps or murky streets of Phnom Penh that we often see in movies. I could've shown that, but I think it's more interesting to show the Cambodia that's not stuck in that glum perception. In the Bangkok scenes, Don is only seen in his room or his office. Once he's in Cambodia, he's out in the street, in the market, in the village. He's freed from what locks him up in his own city.
There are two Cambodian actresses in the film, Saray Sakona and Dy Saveth. How did you cast them, especially Dy Saveth, who's probably Cambodia's best-known actress?
Saray is one of the top five actresses and models in Cambodia. In Cambodia, actresses tend to act "big" — that's how audiences like it — so I had to work with her to tone it down a little. With Dy Saveth, well, I have watched her in the classic Ngu Geng Gong since I was a child and my father was a big fan of hers. I met her several times because I was planning another film, a documentary, about Cambodian artists. So I asked her to be in this feature film first and she was happy to do it.
Do you think there is a glut of Thai horror films?
There are good horror films and bad ones. The Thai ghost films produced by GTH Studio, for instance, are usually of high quality, and that helps sustain the reputation of the genre.
Look around, Japanese horror films and Korean horror films are no longer the big players in the international market, but Thai horror films still are. I believe that as long as filmmakers who really have a passion for horror stories — and not just those who want a piece of the pie — keep working, Thai ghost stories will have a future.
