THAI MOVIE

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Every man in the village loves a young lady called Nak. Young men Mak, Tit Man and the local subdistrict headman's son are part of the suitors but Nak loves Mak. Tit Man tries to forget his discomfiture with another lady called Lamchoon but to no avail so he leaves the village. During a temple festival (งานวัด), where Nak was making merit (ทำบุญ), the local subdistrict headman's son (ลูกกำนันเศรษฐี) fights over Nak with Mak. It turns to be a general fight. Mak promises to marry Nak. On the following day a wedding procession takes place. Similar to movie "The old scar" (แผลเก่า), this 1959 version highlights the rural life with fishing in rice fields and buffaloes. The main actor is the strong and muscular สุรสิทธิ์ สัตยวงษ์. When Nak is pregnant (แผลท้อง), Mak is so happy. But he does receive a letter as he has been selected by lottery to be a soldier in Bangkok. Pa is staying with Nak. The local subdistrict headman's son tries his chance again while Mak is away but Tit Man, going back from Bangkok, helps Nak to chase him. In Bangkok, a woman Chomanak tries to seduce Mak but he is faithful to Nak. Nak dies while giving birth. In this "Mae Nak" 1959 version, the part when Nak is still human is much longer (49 mn) than other "Mae Nak" movies focusing on the ghostly part. During funerals, strong wind and dog howlings happen. People are afraid of ghosts. A local master (อาจารย์) called Thong wishes to make magic filters (ยาเสน่ห์) with Nak's corpse oil (น้ำมันพราย) as it has strong power but he gets strangled while trying to get oil by putting a candle under Nak's chin. Nak is back home waiting for Mak. Nak is now a Phi Tai Hong Klom (ผีตายโหงทองกลม), powerful spirit as it is includes the spirit of unborn baby. The local subdistrict headman's son tries his chance again but this time he loses life. Lor Tok plays a dishonest sorcerer master again asking his acolytes to wear fake ghosts clothes but of course real Mae Nak ghost is coming and all flee. Mak is back home. While preparing food for Mak, a lemon falls on below floor. Mak sees Nak's arm streching out to get the lemon. His child has a demon face. The food is only made of salted fish (ปลาร้า). As he just drank alcohol, he believes his vision is altered. During night time, Nak takes appereance of an ugly ghost again. Mak flees to Tit Man's house. Tit Man confirms that Nak is now a ghost (วิญญาณแรง). Nak is unhappy with Mak's friends as she sees them as a hindrance to her love. A new master helps to neutralize Nak. She refuses to die and birth again (วิญญาณเกิดใหม่) because she loves Mak so much. Love is not possible between ghost and human. In this Mae Nak version, the master succeeds to neutralize Mae Nak and have her spirit emprisonned in an earthen jar closed by a sacred cloth. In other versions, only a Buddhist monk can stop Mae Nak as masters are always useless charlatans. Mae Nak Prakanong (1959) starred sexy actress Preeya Rungruang, while the more recent Nang Nak (1999) featured the actress Intira Jaroenpura, thus shifting the image of female ghosts to a more realistic and humanistic one. It is a typical 1960s movie with dog howling, sorcerer (หมอผี) used, rural background. The picture is decolored and as it is a former 16mm movie, it features a dubbed soundtrack. Mae Nak movie first version was played during Preeya Roongrueng's funerals as an ultimate homage.

ThaiWorldView film database contains 1523 movies.

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