Rahtree: Flower of the Night (2003)

Buppah Rahtree is a loner female student at a Bangkok university who becomes the object of a wager by a group of male students to see if she can be bedded. Ake, the son of a wealthy family,... See full synopsis »

Director:

Yuthlert Sippapak

Writer:

Yuthlert Sippapak (screenplay)

Stars:

Laila Boonyasak, Krit Sripoomseth, Chompunoot Piyapane

3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Laila Boonyasak	...	Buppah Rahtree (as Chermarn Boonyasak)
Krit Sripoomseth	...	Ake (Akekapol Damrongsap) (as Kris Srepoomseth)
Chompunoot Piyapane	...	Muay (as Chompoonuch Piyapanee)
Sirisin Siripornsmathikul	...	Jessie
Ampon Rattanawong	...	Maew / Father, the first shaman
Somjai Sukjai
Sayan Meungjarern	...	Dave
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mr. Nicolas
Somlek Sakdikul	...	Master Kong, the second shaman (as Somchai Sakdikul)
Siriporn Samatikul

Storyline

Buppah Rahtree is a loner female student at a Bangkok university who becomes the object of a wager by a group of male students to see if she can be bedded. Ake, the son of a wealthy family, takes the bet and courts young Buppah. She resists him at first, but one day sees him feeding pigeons in a park and talks to him. After she expresses her desire to fly away, they go on a ride in Ake's convertible. They continue to have a relationship, which culminates in a three-day weekend at Bang Saen, during which Ake has sex with her; he stays in bed with her the whole time. Ake shows videotapes of their sex to his friends, and for his efforts wins a bottle of Johnnie Walker, which he reflects to himself seems like a trivial prize for messing up another person's life. Ake breaks off all contact with Buppah.

After her stepfather gives her a car ride, he takes her to a short-time hotel and sexually assaults her. She stabs him with a fountain pen he gaver her as a present and runs home to her ...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | thailand | part of trilogy | first of trilogy | two word title | 

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Taglines:

A new kind of terror takes root... [uk]

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

At the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), director Yuthlert Sippapak denied critics' claims that the female coroner in this film was a reference to renown forensic pathologist Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunan.

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Connections

References 8 Mile (2002)

User Reviews

Hmm...

Don't be fooled by the title of this movie. "Rahtree: Flower Of The Night" has nothing whatsoever to do with trees or flowers. It is actually the name of the main character in this movie, Buppah Rahtree.

Buppah Rahtree is a smart, but troubled girl. Her past is ravaged by sexual abuse by her stepfather, and has had no friends all her life.

The movie starts out like a love story. Boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy tricks girl… OK, that's not really a love story, but that's how the first 20 minutes go. Ake Dunrongsup is a rich man's son who stalks Buppah, following her day and night. He even buys food for her and leaves it on her doorknob. After Buppah confronts Ake about this, Ake confesses his love for her. Anyway, Ake impregnates Buppah and heads off to further his studies in the United Kingdom. Little did Ake know that Buppah got an abortion and well, committed suicide.

After not receiving Buppah's rent for nearly a month, the evil landlady comes over and forces her way into the apartment and finds her already decomposing body. I know what you're thinking, no comedy yet? Well, the comedy begins when the Thai police come onto the scene. The sergeant in charge was pretty funny in his short but effective role as a bumbling cop. Many other comedic bits follow after this.

The spectrum of characters in this movie overshadows the main plot itself. A lazy shopkeeper and his retarded assistant were the ones producing most of the lighter moments of the movie. Other colorful characters included a couple of obese hairdressing transvestites, a band of fake monks, a clique of hip hop wannabes, the evil landlady and her husband, and a cute girl who helps her father sell rice porridge in a stall nearby.

Mehods of getting rid of Buppah's spirit included visits from the band of 'fake' Buddhist monks, a (real) Buddhist monk, Christian priests, and a Cambodian super monk. All of which didn't work.

Ake comes back to Thailand after not doing very well in his studies abroad. Oblivious to the fact that Buppah is dead, he heads over to her apartment after being kicked out of his own home by his father. Buppah appears in human form to him and welcomes him to stay with her. You'll have to watch the movie to find out what happens after this.

One major problem about this movie is that it is too repetitive. The same scares and actions happen more than once. It is as if you're seeing the same things happening over and over again, but with different cast members and situations. Also, the combination of horror and comedy can sometimes make a scene anti-climactic. The movie's storyline is overall a little too clichéd and weak.

The end of the movie didn't make sense to me, as it didn't really resolve anything. Maybe I was kind of disappointed that the movie had nothing to do with trees or flowers. Haha, but that's just me.

Watch for the "Exorcist" spoof where a Christian priest and a priest in training attempt to 'exorcise' Buppah.

Details

Country:

Thailand

Language:

Thai

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (Thailand)

Also Known As:

Rahtree: Flower of the Night

Filming Locations:

Thailand

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$940,174

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mahagan Films Co. Ltd., Mangpong Public Co. Ltd., Nakomthai Picture Co. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1