I just wanted to react to a previous Thai commentator meaning that "foreigners will not understand the legend behind this film". Come on... Of course this movie sets a traditional tale of Thai culture. But if you know a bit about tales generally, you will realize that there is one or more versions of this particular one in almost every culture and western ones are not an exception to the rule (go to a Tales Festival and you'll find out for sure). I am not saying anything extremely original here : Carl Jung found out about the universality of messages included in tales way back in time... I saw this movie at the Brussels Independent films festival yesterday (nov 12, 2000) and I can assure you that the western public reacted extremely favourably and that there was nothing particularly difficult to understand about it. It has flaws (problems of rythm) but it sounded extremely sincere, emotional, fresh. It is undoubtedly worth seeing (the photography and actors are extremely beautiful as well). Too bad that it'll probably never get distributed around here...

I don't know if I would give NANG NAK the "9's" and "10's" that I've seen other reviewers give it - but I will say that it is a well-done film that is a welcome change from the abundance of "phones", and "rings", and "creepy girls with long black hair" films that have been flying out of Asia recently. Ghost stories in general aren't really my thing (though I do have to admit that I HAVE enjoyed some of the stuff from Japan - I'm just kinda sick of it now...) - but NANG NAK is a bit different, as it is an even mix of a tragic love-story and a pretty straight-forward horror film.

The setting is 1860's Thailand and Mak is sent off to fight in a war. His wife Nak, is pregnant - and during Mak's absence, both Nak and the child die during child-birth. Mak is injured in the war but makes a recovery, and when he returns home, mother and baby are waiting for him. Mak is unaware that he's actually in the presence of ghosts, and when the local villagers try to convince him of the situation, Mak is unreceptive and refuses to believe - until he begins to see for himself otherwise...

NANG NAK was apparently a HUGE success in it's native Thailand - and I can see why. Successfully blending a tragic story of a love that transcends life and death, with sometimes harrowing horror elements - the film as a whole is very solid. Personally I found it to drag a bit in spots, and again - ghost stories in general don't really tend to be my favorite - but I can understand why others enjoy this film so much. The lush tropical Thai environments (much like what are seen in the newly-released ART OF THE DEVIL 2) make an interesting back-drop for this sort of film, and the acting, cinematography, and story-line are all pretty top-notch. There isn't much in the way of "gore" though there are a few scenes that do show a little of the red-stuff. If you dig films like RINGU, A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, JU-ON, etc...but want something different - give this one a shot, you may like it. Personally, I can "appreciate" NANG NAK more than I actually "like" it - so it gets a 7.5/10 from me...

"Nang Nak" is set in the late 1860s and is based on a Thai legend of the supernatural. When war comes to Thailand, a young husband, Mak, leaves his newly pregnant wife and goes off to fulfill his duty as a soldier. A serious wound leaves Mak convalescing in Bangkok for many months, but eventually he becomes strong enough to return home. There he reunites with his devoted wife, Nak, and finally sees their infant son. However, it soon becomes evident that Nak's labor pains caused a singular transformation in her. The other villagers have come to fear Nak--and for good reason.

"Nang Nak" set box office records in Thailand when it was released in 1999. It even managed to outsell James Cameron's "Titanic" in that country, and it is easy to see why. Filmed among menacing rivers and lush jungles, "Nang Nak" is a visually stunning film grounded in a solid story line. From the beautiful shots of Thailand's flora and fauna to the chilling supernatural scenes (which occasionally have the slightest--and rather surprising--hint of Sam Raimi's distinctive cinematic style), director Nonzee Nimibutr immerses his audience in an enchanted world. If the film can be criticized for one thing, however, it may be said that the devotion paid to Image is too zealous. The actors chosen for the two lead roles sport close-trimmed modern hairstyles and ideal physiques, and this works against their credibility as village peasants. Also, some of the most evocative nature sequences in the film are edited too aggressively; hence these images are denied some of the power they might have achieved in the hands of, say, Werner Herzog or Terrence Malick. Even so, "Nang Nak" has plenty of power and poetry to spare.

(A cultural/historical note: The unusual and rather startling blackened teeth of the villagers in the film are due to the practice of chewing beechnuts. Notice that at a certain point in the film one of these nuts is placed in a corpse's mouth as it is prepared for burial.)