Black Silk (1961)

Ratana Pestonji is widely considered to be the father of Thai cinema, and this film of his from 1961 is the first film noir made in Thailand; albeit a noir in dripping Technicolor and 'Scope. The plot is straightforward, Tom is the nephew of Seni, a night club owner deep in debt. Tom wants to marry his girlfriend, the widow Prae Dum, but is not any more well off than his boss. But when Seni's eccentric twin brother dies, he sees a way out of his current predicament. He manipulates Tom and Prae into helping him murder his rivals and stage his own death, but when Prae finds out what is really going on, she breaks off relations with Tom and threatens to go to the police. This sets the stage for an inevitable tragedy. Black Silk is a curious film. Pestonji's style has been described a mix of the avant-garde, Hollywood style melodrama, and Buddhist ethos. The set pieces are highly theatrical, and the film is composed of long takes, seeming to belong more to the theater than the cinema. But Pestonji's film is full of exciting cinematic flourishes as well. There is a scene involving a coffin halfway through that rivals the best horror films. Black Silk is a film that requires patience, but is thoroughly satisfying and rewarding.