The Overture
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''The Overture'' ( or Hom rong) is a
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
Thai
tragic A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsis, or a "pain ...
-
nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
-
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
. The film is a fictionalised account based on the life story of Thai palace musician Luang Pradit Phairoh (
Sorn Silapabanleng Luang Pradith Pairoh Sorn Silpabanleng (, , 6 August 1881 – 8 March 1954), commonly known by his title as Luang Pradit Pairoh (, also spelled Pradit Phairoh, ) was a Thai musician who was famous for playing Thai instruments and composing origin ...
), which follows the life of a Thai classical musician from the late 19th century to the 1940s. The film was the winner of several awards in Thailand and was the country's official selection for the 77th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was directed by Itthisoontorn Vichailak, who also co-wrote the script. Producers included
Nonzee Nimibutr Nonzee Nimibutr (, ; Born: 18 December 1962) is a Thai film director, film producer and screenwriter. Best known for his ghost thriller, '' Nang Nak'', he is generally credited as the leader among a " New Wave" of Thai filmmakers that also inclu ...
and
Chatrichalerm Yukol Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol (; ; born 29 November 1942), or usually known by his nickname Mui (), is a Thai film director, screenwriter film producer and National Artist Performing Arts branch (Movie and TV Drama director) in 2001. A member of ...
. The film was credited with a revival in the popularity of
piphat A ''piphat'' () is a kind of ensemble in the classical music of Thailand, which features wind and percussion instruments. It is considered the primary form of ensemble for the interpretation of the most sacred and "high-class" compositions of t ...
– Thai classical music. In 2015, this film was remade into a musical play, which ran from the 4th of April to 17 May at KBank Siam Pic-Ganesha Theatre.


Plot

The story begins in the 1940s, with the Sorn recounting the tale of his childhood in 1880s Siam, during the reign of
King Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...
. Sorn's father bars the boy from taking up the ''
ranat ek The ''ranat ek'' (, , "also xylophone") is a Thai musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of 22 wooden bars suspended by cords over a boat-shaped trough resonator and struck by two mallets. It is used as a leading instrument in ...
'' (Thai
xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...
) due to his brother's murder, precipitated by musical rivalry. Sorn defies his father and continues to play the instrument secretly. Sorn becomes highly skilled at playing the ranat ek, leading to his father's support. As he excels, he grows arrogant, leading to his father forcing him to play the lesser Khong-wong (Thai
tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
) to humble him. At a competition, Sorn steps in to lead his band, playing the ranat ek, and wins. He is recruited by the palace, where he taught by the strict Master Tian. Sorn is taught all Thai instruments, and is punished for showing off - leading to his place being temporarily relinquished to a lesser player. At the kingdom's musical competition, it is Sorn who is again the lead player, where he must overcome his fear and face an old rival. In the 1940s, Sorn is a respected teacher. This is during the rule of the dictator, Field Marshal
Plaek Pibulsonggram Plaek Phibunsongkhram; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964) was a Thai military officer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Thailand from 1938 to 1944 and again from 1948 to 1957. He rose to power as a leading member of the Kh ...
, whose government called for the accelerated modernisation of Thailand amidst the ongoing
Japanese occupation of Thailand Thailand officially adopted a neutral position during World War II until the five hour-long Japanese invasion of Thailand on 8 December 1941, which led to an armistice and military alliance treaty between Thailand and the Empire of Japan in ...
, leading to the suppression of traditional Thai music, dance and theatre. Despite this, when his son brings a piano home, Sorn blends Thai and Western music by using the mallets of the ranat ek to play the piano, illustrating the importance of embracing the evolution of traditions.


Cast

* Anuchyd Sapanphong as younger Sorn * Adul Dulyarat as elderly Sorn *
Pongpat Wachirabunjong Pongpat Wachirabunjong (; ) is a Thai singer, actor, film director and TV series director and producer. He graduated in bachelor in health of physical education from Srinakharinwirot University. He is well known in Thailand for his role in the ...
as Lt Col Veera * Narongrit Tosa-nga as Khun In * Phoovarit Phumpuang as Terd *
Somlek Sakdikul Somlek Sakdikul () (born, 10 November 1953) is a Thai film actor and musician. He is sometimes credited as Somchai Sakdikul. He portrayed "Suwat" or "Daddy", the lecherous music producer in Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's 2001 comedy, ''Monrak Transistor''. ...
as Master Tian


Cast for Musical

*
Kornkan Sutthikoses Kornkan Sutthikoses (; born 17 October 1988), nicknamed Arm, is a Thai actor. He was first runner-up for the 18th KPN Award Thailand Singing Contest 2009 and won the popular vote. He graduated from Saint Dominic School and Chulalongkorn Univers ...
as younger Sorn * Sathida Prompiriya as younger Chote


Reception

After a poor showing at the box office on opening weekend, ''The Overture'' was pulled from many theaters. However, due to interest on Internet forums such as
Pantip.com Pantip.com is a popular Thai-language website and Internet forum, discussion forum. As of July 2016, Pantip.com one of the top 10 websites in Thailand and 712 worldwide. Discussions about Thai politics and current events on Pantip.com's topic ...
, the film was brought back and become a sensation that won numerous awards and sparked renewed interest in Thai classical music. The film was embraced by Royal Family and the Thai government, which used it as a promotional tool. It was one of the most popular Thai films of 2004.


Awards

In addition to being named as Thailand's official selection for Best Foreign Language Film for the 77th Academy Awards, ''The Overture'' collected dozens of awards in Thailand. They include: 2004
Thailand National Film Association Awards The Suphannahong National Film Awards (, also known as the Thailand National Film Association Awards) is the primary film award of the Thai film industry. It is given annually by the National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Association ...
* Best Picture * Best Director * Best Supporting Actor (Adul Dulyarat) * Best Cinematography (Nattawut Kittikhun) * Best Editing (Itthisoontorn Vichailak) * Best Screenplay (Itthisoontorn Vichailak, Peerasak Saksiri, Dolkamol Sattatip) * Best Sound 2004
Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards The Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards (; "Entertainment Critics Club Awards") is a film award based in Thailand. It is given by the Bangkok Critics Assembly (, ), an association of professional film critics, to local feature film productions on an an ...
* Best Picture * Best Director * Best Supporting Actor (Pongpat Wachirabanjong) * Best Film Editing * Best Music 2004 Star Entertainment Award * Best Picture * Best Director * Best Supporting Actor (Adul Dulyarat) * Best Film Editing * Best Screenplay * Best Sound Recording * Best Music


Film festivals

''The Overture'' was screened at many film festivals in 2004 and 2005. They include: *
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
*
Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...
*
Pusan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held from ...
*
London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...
*
Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival, formerly Miami International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Miami, Florida, each March. Since 2015 the festival also runs a smaller Fall Festival, known as the Miami Film Festival GEMS, which presents ...
*
Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...


Soundtrack

The original score was composed by Chatchai Pongprapaphan, with Thai classical music performed by Chaibhuk Bhutrachinda, the Korphai Ensemble and Narongrit Tosa-nga. Narongrit, who portrayed Khun-In in the film, is a professional musician and a gifted player of the '' ranad-ek'' (Thai
xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...
) and actually performed his own '' ranad-ek'' parts in the film. ''The Overture'' won Best Music at the Star Entertainment Awards 2004 and
Bangkok Critics Assembly The Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards (; "Entertainment Critics Club Awards") is a film award based in Thailand. It is given by the Bangkok Critics Assembly (, ), an association of professional film critics, to local feature film productions on an an ...
Awards.http://www.thaifilm.com/awardsDetail.asp?id=76 A soundtrack album was produced by Itthisoontorn Vichailak and released in 2004, but has since gone out of print.


Track listing

#"Assajun" ("อัศจรรย์", or "Miracle", composed by Petch Marr and Pijika) – 4:40 #"Kaek bor-ra-tes" ("แขกบรเทศ") – 0:53 #"Ton worrachet" ("ต้นวรเชษฐ์") – 1:35 #"Kum warn" ("คำหวาน") – 1:34 #"Kra-tai ten" ("กระต่ายเต้น") – 1:18 #"
Lao duang duen Lao Duang Duean (, ) is the classical Thai musical composition of Prince Benbadhanabongse, son of King Rama V. It was composed in 1909 as the original title ''Lao Damnoen Kwian'' and was later changed to the new title ''Lao Duang Duean''. Mea ...
" ("ลาวดวงเดือน") – 1:10 #"Hom rong pra-derm chai" ("โหมโรงประเดิมชัย") – 1:39 #"Hom rong um-ma-baht" ("โหมโรงอัฐมบาท") – 1:37 #"Hom rong chor paka" ("โหมโรงช่อผกา") – 1:22 #"Home rong jeen tok mai" ("โหมโรงจีนตอกไม้") – 1:55 #"Saen kum-nueng" ("แสนคำนึง") – 3:11 #*Tracks 2-11 traditional Thai music performed by Chaibhuk Bhutrachinda, Korphai and Narongrit Tosa-nga #"Raek phob" ("แรกพบ") – 2:12 #"Terd toh" ("เติบโต") – 2:38 #"Berk barn" ("เบิกบาน") – 0:50 #"Sum nuek" ("สำนึก") – 1:10 #"Chai-cha-na" ("ชัยชนะ") – 2:10 #"Kwam wung" ("ความหวัง") – 2:23 #*Tracks 12-17 are adapted from the original score by Chatchai Pongrapaphan


See also

*
Music of Thailand The music of Thailand includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. Traditional Thai musical instruments are varied and reflect ancient influence from far afield – including the ''klong thap'' and ''khim'' (Iran, Pers ...
*
Traditional Thai musical instruments Traditional Thai musical instruments (, ) are the musical instruments used in the traditional and classical music of Thailand. They comprise a wide range of wind, string, and percussion instruments played by both the Thai majority as well as th ...
* Ranat ek musical instrument


References


External links

* *
Official page at Kino International


{{DEFAULTSORT:Overture, The 2004 films Thai-language films 2000s musical drama films Films set in the 1880s Films set in the 1940s Sahamongkol Film International films Thai biographical films Best Picture Suphannahong National Film Award winners Thai national heritage films 2000s biographical films 2004 drama films 2000s Thai films 2004 musical films