Film

The Overture

Name: The Overture
Director: Ittisoontorn Vichailak
Released: 2004
Rating: 7.1
Cast: Anuchit Sapanpong, Adul Dulyarat, Pongpat Wachirabunjong, Narongrit Tosa-nga, Phoovarit Phumpuang

2004 · 103 min · ★ 7.1 · Dir. Ittisoontorn Vichailak

Based on the life of Luang Pradit Pairoh (Sorn Silapabanleng) the most revered traditional Thai music master who lived during the reigns of Kings Rama V to VIII, the movie traces the life of Sorn, who picked up the ra-nad ek (Thai xylophone) mallets as a small child and played all his life. The backdrop to Sorn's life tale is the story of Thailand's classical music from its golden age during the reign of King Rama V to near extinction after the end of the absolute monarchy when the government banned it as uncivilised in the 1930s -- a time when Field Marshall Plaek Pibulsongkram tried to push the Kingdom into the modern era.