Dragons and Tigers
  Crying Tigers
Suea Ronghai
[CRTIG]  

Thailand, 2005, 95 min, 35mm
International Premiere

Directed By: Santi Taepanich
CAST: Pornsak Songsan, Man, Nath, Oi
  
 Film Resources 
  One of the first feature-length Thai documentaries ever made, and certainly the first ever released theatrically, Crying Tigers offers intimate portraits of four individuals who have only one thing in common: they have all come to Bangkok from Thailand’s north-eastern province Isan in the hopes of "making it." Isan (also spelt "Esarn") is a predominantly agricultural region, but plagued by chronic drought and poverty. It’s rich in local traditions (culinary, vocal, you name it) and represents "old Thailand" ­ in opposition to the metropolitan glitz of Bangkok.

Of the film’s four subjects, only one has really done well: the popular singer Pornsak Songsan, still on the road but now close to retirement. The other three are still stuck on the lowest rungs of the ladder: Man, who has to dress up as a fish to promote a seafood restaurant but dreams of becoming a variety-show comedian; Nath, working as a stunt man in movies and dreaming of the day he co-stars with Tony Jaa in Ong-Bak 2; and Oi, the only woman, who first drove a taxi and then became a trucker.

As the title suggests, all of these "tigers" are eventually reduced to tears, and it’s a measure of first-time director Santi’s skill that the intimacy doesn’t feel intrusive. The film was edited down from many hours of footage (Santi originally planned to feature 20 different people!), and so this represents a distillation of his sociological and psychological findings. It’s also a fascinating spot-sample of Bangkok’s present-day highs and lows.
 
Screening Schedule
 Date Time Venue Tickets 
 Tue, Oct 4 7:15 pm Granville 7 Theatre 2 $9.50   
 Wed, Oct 5 12:30 pm Pacific Cinematheque $7.50   
 Thu, Oct 13 9:45 pm Granville 7 Theatre 2 $9.50   
   
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