''The King Maker'' ( Thai: กบฎท้าวศรีสุดาจันทร์), or ''The Rebellion of Queen Sudachan'', is a 2005 Thai

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as c ...

set during the

Ayutthaya kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom or the Empire of Ayutthaya was a Thai people, Thai kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city), Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. Europe ...

. With a storyline that shares many similarities to 2001's ''

The Legend of Suriyothai ''The Legend of Suriyothai'' () is a 2001 Thai film written and directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol, which portrays the story of Queen Suriyothai, who died in battle in the Burmese–Siamese War of 1548 sacrificing herself to save the life of Ki ...

'', ''The King Maker's'' plot focuses on a Portuguese

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

(

Gary Stretch Gary Stretch (born 4 November 1965) is a British boxer, actor, model, producer, and screenwriter. During his boxing career, Stretch won 29 of his 31 fights, 20 of those by KO. He became the WBC International Super Welterweight Champion. In his ...

) in the service of the Siamese court. Directed by Lek Kitaparaporn and produced by David Winters, it was the first English-language Thai film production since the 1941 film, ''

King of the White Elephant ''The King of the White Elephant'' (, ) is a 1940 Thai historical drama film. Based on a novel by Pridi Banomyong, who was also the producer, and released before Thailand's involvement in World War II, the English-language film carried a propaga ...

'', produced by

Pridi Phanomyong Pridi Banomyong (, , ; 11 May 1900 – 2 May 1983), also known by his noble title Thai_nobility#Noble_titles, Luang Praditmanutham (), was a Thai lawyer, professor, activist, politician, and senior statesman. He served in multiple ministerial p ...

Plot

The story opens with Portuguese soldier Fernando de Gama in a shipwreck. He finds some wreckage to float on and washes up on the coast of

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. After almost being eaten by a

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

, he is captured by

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

slave traders and taken to

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

. Released from his bonds to be put on the auction block, he promptly knocks down his captors and leads them on a chase throughout the ancient city. Eventually, he is brought under control, but not before he is captured the attention of a Eurasian beauty, Maria, who buys him his freedom back. After recovering from his recapture, Maria brings Fernando to meet her father, Phillippe. Fernando immediately recognizes Phillippe as the man who killed Fernando's father many years ago, whom Fernando has been seeking on a lifetime quest for revenge. But there are bigger battles to be fought. Fernando and his Portuguese compatriots are pressed into the service of King Chairacha, who has to go into battle. It is a multi-national taskforce, not only including Portuguese mercenaries, but also samurai warriors (likely Christians expelled from Japan). In battle, Fernando bonds with a Thai warrior named Tong. They distinguish themselves by saving the King from an assassination attempt and are appointed his personal bodyguards. Queen Sudachan, a former royal

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

who schemed her way into becoming queen, is behind the assassination plot. Because it failed, she calls on Don Phillippe for help. Phillippe in turn enlists a scar-faced

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

to kill the king. This plan is also thwarted by Fernando, Tong and other Siamese troops. After the assassins are killed in the king's bedroom, King Chairacha assigns Tong and Fernando the task of seeking out whoever is behind this scheme. Recognizing one of the dead assassins as the scar-faced ninja he had seen Phillippe talking with earlier that night, Fernando confronts Phillippe. They fight, and Phillippe is killed by Tong. Meanwhile, the queen resorts to black magic to poison the king. She also must kill her own son, Prince Yodfa (who is next in line for the throne), to clear the way for her boyfriend

Worawongsathirat Worawongsathirat (, ) was a usurper in the Ayutthaya Kingdom, ruling for only 42 days in 1548 before being assassinated. Siamese chronicles relate that Worawongsathirat attainted the crown — his kingship is not accepted by most traditional h ...

. This she achieves by hiring a spear-wielding African warrior. Succeeding in her plot, Fernando and Tong are then framed for the deaths and made to fight each other in a death duel for Queen Sudachan, her new king, and the crowd's amusement. Tong's family and Maria's life are threatened, and Tong throws an axe at Worawongsathirat, slaying him. Moments before the queen kills Tong and Fernando in revenge, King Chairacha's brother

Maha Chakkraphat Maha Chakkraphat (, ; lit.: 'The Great Emperor'; 1509 – 1569; Burmese: မဟာစက္ကဝတ္တိ၊ မဟာစကြဝတေး၊ မဟာစကြာမင်း) was king of the Ayutthaya kingdom from 1548 to 1564 and 1568 to 1 ...

arrives. Having deduced on his own that the queen is behind the king and prince's deaths, he arrests the queen and releases our heroes and their loved ones. In an ending text, it is stated that news of these events were heard by the king of Burma, and that the story's impression of disarray is what caused the Burmese invasion and the eventual decline and destruction of Ayutthaya.

Cast

as Fernando De Gama *

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor known for portraying Gimli (Middle-earth), Gimli in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He has received three ...

as Phillippe * Cindy Burbridge as Maria *Yossavadee Hassadeevichit as Queen

Si Sudachan Sisudachan (; early 1500s – 1548 in Ayutthaya) was a queen of Ayutthaya by marriage to King Chairacha of Ayutthaya. At his death, between 1546 and 1548, she served as regent for her son Yot Fa. According to the chronicles of that time, she wa ...

* Dom Hetrakul as Tong *

Nirut Sirijanya Nirut Sirichanya (born 2 May 1947) is a Thai movie and television actor. He is best known internationally for his role as Lauren's father Fong in the 2011 sequel ''The Hangover Part II''. He is the recipient of Suphannahong National Film Awards ...

as King

Chairacha Chairachathirat (, ), or ''Chai'' reigned 1534–1546 as King of the Ayutthaya kingdom of Siam. His reign was remarkable for the influx of Portuguese traders, mercenaries, and early Modern warfare technology. Birth The evidence regarding his ...

Charlie Trairat Charlie Trairat Potjes (; born 19 January 1993) also known as Nack, is a Thai actor and singer. He gained stardom through '' Fan Chan'', which was Thailand's highest-grossing film in 2003. Early life Charlie Trairat Potjes, popularly known by ...

as Prince

Yodfa Yotfa () or Kaeofa () was the 14th Ayutthayan king from the Suphannaphum Dynasty (c. 1536 – 10 June 1548) Yotfa was a son of King Chairachathirat () and his consort Lady Si Suda Chan (). He reigned from 1546 until his murder in 1548.Chakrabon ...

* Akara Amarttayakul as Phan Bud Sri Thep *Byron Bishop as Scar-Face Ninja

Language issues

* All the dialogue was recorded in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. However, when the movie was screened commercially in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, the parts where Thai characters were interacting with other Thais were dubbed in Thai.

Awards

The film received two nominations at the Thailand National Film Association Awards, best supporting actress for Cindy Burbridge and best art direction.

References

External links

*
Chalermthai Thai synopsis and galleryBangkok Post article via Paknam Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:King Maker, The 2005 films 2000s adventure drama films Sahamongkol Film International films Thai historical films Thai-language films Action International Pictures films Historical epic films 2005 drama films 2000s English-language films Thai drama films 2000s Thai films English-language adventure drama films