The Unseeable

Infobox Film
name = The Unseeable


caption = The Thai movie poster.
director = Wisit Sasanatieng
producer = Rewat Vorarat Chareon Iamphungporn
writer = Kongkiat Khomsiri
starring = Supornthip Choungrangsee
Siraphun Wattanajinda
music = Wild at Heart
cinematography = Chankit Chanivikaipong
editing = Patamanadda Yukol
distributor = Five Star Production
released = Thailand:
November 2, 2006
Singapore
and Malaysia:
February 1, 2007
runtime = 100 min.
country = Thailand
awards =
language = Thai
budget = US$2 million [Rotten Tomatoes, May 23, 2006. [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/journal_view.php?journalid=100000335&entryid=324881&view=public Wisit's third project: The Unseeable] .]
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0950500

"The Unseeable" ( _th. เปนชู้กับผี or "Pen Choo Kub Pee"; RTGS: Pen Chu Kap Phi) is a 2006 Thai horror film directed by Wisit Sasanatieng. The first film of another writer's screenplay by the director, the writer is Kongkiat Khomsiri, one of the "Ronin Team" credited with directing the 2005 Thai horror film "Art of the Devil 2".

Plot

Set in 1934 Siam, the story involves a young pregnant woman named Nualjin who's searching for her missing husband. She comes to stay in the spooky rural mansion of a widow, 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 Nualjin
* Tassawan Seneewongse as Somchit
* Sombatsara Teerasaroch as Choy

Origins

"The Unseeable" marks a change for Wisit Sasanatieng, who made his mark with the colourful western, "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 and Joan Crawford. Thai pop culture influences come from illustrator Hem Vejakorn, who wrote a series of 10-satang graphic novel 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 to not violate the copyright of Hem's work. However, Wisit said the film was not an adaptation of any of Hem's works but was generally inspired by Hem's style. [Rithdee, Kong. November 3, 2006. [http://www.bangkokpost.com/Realtime/03Nov2006_real01.php "Vintage affair"] , "Bangkok Post".] [Rithdee, Kong. November 3, 2006. [http://www.bangkokpost.com/Realtime/03Nov2006_real05.php "The carnival of souls"] , "Bangkok Post".]

Reception

Festivals and awards

* 2007 Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film
* 2007 Bangkok International Film Festival (ASEAN competition)
* 2007 Cinemanila International Film Festival

References

* Thai Cinema News, May 20, 2006. [http://www.thaicinema.org/cannese2006_03.asp Cannes 2006 report] , ThaiCinema.org.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.penchookubpee.com/ Official Thai site]
* [http://www.theunseeable.com/ Official English-language site]
* [http://www.movieseer.com/MovieProfileBil.asp?moID=5776&Channel=2 Synopsis at MovieSeer]
* [http://www.thaicinema.org/reviews_26theunseeable.asp Review at ThaiCinema.org]
*
* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/journal_view.php?journalid=100000335&entryid=375132&view=public Review] at Rotten Tomatoes
* [http://www.afmfilms.org/catalog/FilmDetail.php?id=1604 Trailer at American Film Market]