Writer-director Kongkiat Khomsiri describes himself as old school when it comes to his influence and style in filmmaking.
"I grew up with the cowboy and action films of the 1970s," Kongkiat said, citing Thai classics such as Chalong Pakdeevijit's Thong (Gold) as one of his childhood favourites and earliest exposure to the action genre. He also looked up to the spaghetti Western The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, with Clint Eastwood in the lead, as a major influence.
"As a kid, we walked away from a film with imagination. We grabbed a stick and pretended it's a sword or gun and pretended we're in that film, and it's fun. That's a good experience I got from action films. And as a filmmaker, I also want to pass on this experience," said Kongkiat.
And it's evident. Kongkiat's latest film Khun Phan 2, which opens tomorrow, is a home-grown Western featuring a moustachioed sheriff going after bandits in a rural setting. It even has a train robbery featuring rugged, handsome robbers on horseback chasing after a speeding carriage.
But Kongkiat also brings East and West together by adding Thai witchcraft to the form of Western cowboys: Khun Phan 2 is a sequel to his 2016 original starring Ananda Everingham as Khun Phantharak Rajjadej (known simply as Khun Phan), a real-life police legend famous for his unyielding stance on injustice, quick drawing and also his rumoured use of enchanted amulets and supernatural spells -- a Wyatt Earp armed with ancient sorcery.
After defeating a notorious bandit in the first film, the sequel sees Khun Phan losing faith in the law. Forced to leave his job, he eventually teams up with gangsters and vigilante heroes Fai (Wanchana Sawasdee, the leading man from the King Naresuan movies) and Bai (Arak Amornsupasiri, a well-known singer). In the film, Khun Phan battles his own conscience as he wades into the grey area between good and evil, and as he realises that the law is not all that virtuous while the bandits aren't all corrupt.
To Kongkiat, his film couldn't have come at a better time than now -- a time when people are losing faith in pretty much everything.
"Our society is filled with uncertainty, fear, cyberbullying and pressure. Kids are tired because they have to dream so much, to have to be somebody. Religion is in ruins. Politicians and civil officers can't be trusted. There is no system or institution you can hold on to. And this is a time when you need a hero movie the most.
"We're asking a more grown-up question here that reflects today's situation. Bad men are everywhere, in temples, police stations and thief's lairs. People who are doing something good are called pretentious. And if you're not a bad person, you lose out because people will take advantage of you. Does it take being bad to survive? How would a person like Khun Phan who upholds goodness and virtue live?
"Sometimes, magic alone isn't enough. Faith isn't enough. It's not just about physical fights but also fighting to hold on to what is right, even when you're laughed at and people are calling you a fool."
In real life, Khun Phan is a name shrouded in myth. A policeman who lived between 1903 to 2006, he was known for defeating bandits and criminals in various parts of the country, including the Deep South (which was the basis of the original Khun Phan film). Besides his bravery and virtue, Khun Phan was believed to possess a powerful magic that rendered him invulnerable to bullets. He also popularised the craze for an amulet called Jatukam Ramathep in the mid-2000s.
The question of the good, the bad and the evil is at the centre of the film: Khun Phan 2 comes with a hashtag asking #DoGoodCopsStillExist, to which Kongkiat said was to reflect what's going on in society, though it was never his intention to criticise the Thai law enforcement in his work.
"That's not why I make films. The fundamental rule of making a film is basically 'what if this and that happen'. The job to criticise lies with someone else -- the audiences and critics," said Kongkiat. "But of course, there has to be a message. In a ruined system, what makes a good man become a thief?"
Kongkiat's past credits include the 2007 kick-boxing drama Chaiya and 2012 gangster film Anthapan. He also co-directed a black-magic thriller Long Khong (Art Of The Devil), which became a modest hit across Southeast Asia.
Khun Phan 2 also arrives at a time when Thai action films rarely register on the radar of the audience. During the golden age of Thai cinema from the 1960s to 1980s, when nearly 200 films were made each year, a large number of them were action movies starring all the top stars of the period. In the early 2000s, a brief revival of Thai action films came with the martial arts hit Ong-bak, but it proved short-lived.
Now, Thai action films have virtually disappeared from the cinemas.
"Film is an entertainment business that takes a lot of money, with a small space to reap back the profit," said the director. "Thai films can't really be differentiated into specific genres, simply because it's not big enough. While action features aren't completely gone, we're still at a challenging time. People sometimes question why we're doing it when we can't fight with Hollywood action films anyway. Well, when did I ever say I can? But I will. We, the small people with a budget the size of their breakfast, will fight."
Another reason why the popularity of Thai action films has been dwindling is the lack of originality and diversity, and Kongkiat said this also applies to films in other genres too.
"When one movie becomes successful, filmmakers just take the style and try to repeat that over and over. That was very much how action films perished here, partly because nothing stood out anymore. And then there's no more of it. The old then becomes the new when time changes.
"I'm really not into those. If people are going to say I'm a hillbilly and old school, well, that's my style and I go all the way with it. Nobody tells you to all be the same. You see Christopher Nolan, Guy Ritchie, Guillermo Del Toro and Takashi Miike -- each director has his own quality and that's why it's fun. But if everyone goes all Tarantino, that'd be so boring."
The future of Thai action films will most likely get better when the economy does, added the filmmaker.
"That's viewing it positively. But someone has to start somewhere. If no one does and all we ever do is talk about it, then nothing will grow out of it."
Kongkiat also has his own plan for the future of Khun Phan, which he foresees could span multiple instalments to become Thailand's answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A fun, supernatural tale born from our very own urban legends and heroes.
"We can make 10 films based on Khun Phan's biography alone. There are stories and resources available. But it's not fixed that it has to be me doing it, or that Ananda has to play it. It can be like James Bond, you know, that it doesn't have to be the same people who make it. Everyone can have a hand in bringing this Thai superhero to life."
Arak Amornsupasiri, Ananda Everingham (on the motorcycle) and Wanchana Sawasdee in a scene from Khun Phan 2. Photo © Sahamongkol Film International
