The Moonhunter (2001)
"14 tula, songkram prachachon" (original title)

The Moonhunter tells a true story of two young Thai revolutionaries. Seksan Prasertkul, a fearless student leader, who, in October 1973, commanded the biggest mass demonstration in modern ... See full summary »

Director:

Bhandit Rittakol

Writers:

Seksan Prasertkul (screenplay), Bhandit Rittakol (screenplay)

Stars:

Punu Suwanno, Pimpan Chanta, Kriangkrai Fookasem

Cast

Cast overview:
Punu Suwanno	...	Seksan Prasertkul
Pimpan Chanta	...	Chiranan Pitpreecha
Kriangkrai Fookasem	...	Prasit
Supalak Chaowayuth	...	Amporn
Pakachon Voonsri	...	Vichai
Somkid Praphan	...	Kon

Storyline

The Moonhunter tells a true story of two young Thai revolutionaries. Seksan Prasertkul, a fearless student leader, who, in October 1973, commanded the biggest mass demonstration in modern Thai history. The event led to a popular uprising that toppled the military dictatorship and restored democracy. His life and that of his girlfriend, Chiranan Pitpreecha-a campus queen- took a drastic turn when they were caught in the wave of political violence, stirred up by remnants of the old ruling elite who still bid for the return of dictatorial rule. After the assassinations of many fellow activists, the two decided to join the illegal armed movement, led by the Communist Party of Thailand, fighting guerilla-style in the forests of Thailand. Seksan's dreams of redressing his country's grievances, however, were quickly shattered, for he found that his strain of idealism was not really shared by the party's old Guard.

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Plot Keywords:

thailand | military | politics | government | corruption | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Thailand

Language:

Thai

Release Date:

18 May 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Moonhunter

Company Credits

Production Co:

BEC-TERO Entertainment, Five Star Production Co. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real Chiranan Pitpreecha is now a celebrated poet in Thailand.

User Reviews

Entertaining and dramatic look at Thailand's way towards democracy.

"The Moonhunter" (engl. title) intercuts between two stories. One is the student uprising of October 1973 (all in black and white, news reel style), the other is the personal story of Seksan, one of the student leaders, in the years 1974-1980. It's an interesting technique to parallel the two stories and leads to one question at the end, that the protagonist and the viewers might ask themselves: Did the students achieve enough in 73 or was it necessary to achieve more?

This "more" is actually communism. After 1973, many of the students fled to Laos and / or northern Thailand to organize an armed revolution. Those parts of the movie are handled very well because they show that once again, there was a good socialist idea in the beginning, that was crushed by the narrow minds of the communist leaders. Those stupid, endless discussions about the course of the party. Pro-Chinese, pro-Russian, pro-Vietnamese ... whatever, it's all just talk and the upholding of unnecessary dogmas. That becomes clear to Seksan, our protagonist.

He favors a democratic Socialism, a "Thai way". His exact agenda remains a little bit fuzzy but that actually helps the film because it allows more viewers to sympathize with him. One might therefore accuse "The Moonhunter" of political naïvite, but I wouldn't go so far. It tries to recapture those crucial moments in Thai history, its way to democracy - and some personal drama behind this historic event. Worth a look! I'd rate it

7/10