''The Unseeable'' (; ; literally "Committing Adultery with Ghost") is a

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Thai

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

directed by

Wisit Sasanatieng Wisit Sasanatieng (; ; born June 28, 1963) is a Thai (ethnic group), Thai film director and screenwriter of Thai Chinese, Chinese descent. Best known for his colourful debut feature film, ''Tears of the Black Tiger'', he is among a "Thai New Wave, ...

. This is the first film of another writer's screenplay by the director. The writer is

Kongkiat Khomsiri Kongkiat "Kome" Komesiri (, born 2 June 1975, in Thailand) is a Thai film director and screenwriter. Film career Kongkiat graduated from the Faculty of Mass Communications at Bangkok University and started his career as a crew member on ''Mysteri ...

, one of the "Ronin Team" credited with directing the 2005 Thai horror film ''

Art of the Devil 2 ''Art of the Devil 2'' also known as ''Long Khong'' () is a 2005 Thai supernatural horror film directed by Kongkiat Khomsiri, Art Thamthrakul, Yosapong Polsap, Putipong Saisikaew, Isara Nadee, Pasith Buranajan and Seree Pongniti (known collect ...

''.

Plot

Set in 1934 Siam, the story involves a young

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

woman named Nualjan who's searching for her missing

husband A husband is a man involved in a marital relationship, commonly referred to as a spouse. The specific rights, responsibilities, and societal status attributed to a husband can vary significantly across different cultures and historical perio ...

. She comes to stay in the spooky rural mansion of a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

, Runjuan. The overgrown property is managed by the stern caretaker Somchit and inhabited by a number of other people, including another young woman, Choy, who becomes Nualjin's friend, as well as an old woman, a little girl and a man who is seen at the back of the property, digging a hole.

Cast

* Supornthip Choungrangsee as Runjuan () * Siraphun Wattanajinda as Nualjan () * Tassawan Seneewongse as Somchit * Wisa Kongka as Choy ()

Origins

''The Unseeable'' marks a change for

, who made his mark with the colourful

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, '' Tears of the Black Tiger'' and the romantic-comedy, '' Citizen Dog''. With his third film, Wisit was restrained by budgetary concerns from the stylizations of his first two films, but in doing so he was able to make it an homage to films of the 1930s and the stars of that era, including

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

and

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

. Thai pop culture influences come from illustrator

Hem Vejakorn Mom Luang Hem Vejakorn (; ; January 17, 1904, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok – April 16, 1969, Thon Buri, Bangkok) was a Thai artist and writer. He is best known for his illustrations for the covers of 10- satang pulp novels, which have in turn influenc ...

, who wrote a series of 10- satang

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

ghost stories in the 1930s and '40s. The reference was so striking that the Barom Khru Foundation, which claims to supervise Hem's works, issued a statement warning

Five Star Production Five Star Production Co. Ltd. () is a Thai film production company. It was founded in 1973 by Kiat Iamphungphorn and is today headed by his children, Aphiradee and her younger brothers Kiatkamon and Kiattikul. The company's films include the wo ...

to not violate the copyright of Hem's work. However, Wisit said the film was not an

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

of any of Hem's works but was generally inspired by Hem's style.

Reception

Festivals and awards

* 2007

Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (, ) was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller and science fiction films. It takes place in Brussels, eve ...

2007 Bangkok International Film Festival The 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival was held from July 19 to July 29, 2007, at SF Group's SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. The fifth consecutive year for the festival, organizers planned a program of about 100 films, with an emphasis on ...

(ASEAN competition) * 2007

Cinemanila International Film Festival The Cinemanila International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Manila, Philippines. It was founded by Filipino filmmaker Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz in 1999. The focus of the festival is on the cinema of the Philippines as well as Sout ...

* 2007

Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Taipei Golden Horse Awards () are a film festival and associated awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. The festival and ceremony were founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republ ...

– NETPAC Award

References

* Thai Cinema News, May 20, 2006
Cannes 2006 report
ThaiCinema.org.

Notes

External links

Official Thai site

Official English-language site
*
Trailer at American Film Market
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unseeable, The 2006 films Five Star Production films Thai ghost films Thai-language films Thai horror films Films directed by Wisit Sasanatieng Films set in 1934 Films set in country houses Thai supernatural horror films 2000s Thai films