La-Tha-Pii

Lore & Background

The film's plot is set in 1976 in Jedah, where Communist Jiam separatist leader and his men stormed camp S-11 on his home island Krujaba, ordering a massacre of government soldiers and taking 10,000 inhabitants as hostages. When government troops stormed the island, he executed all prisoners and killed himself on 9 May, leaving the camp cursed as May S-11. A television team turns the camp into a reality show where the winner gets 5 million baht, and 11 young contestants, including Dao, Yut, Kemtid, and Jay, must endure the eerie ruins. Ghosts make their lives difficult and they die.

Reader's Guide

La-Tha-Pii is significant primarily for the controversy it generated rather than its artistic merit. The film's fictional prison, S-11, closely resembled the Khmer Rouge's S-21 (Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum) in Cambodia, where real atrocities occurred. The depiction of piles of skulls and bones further echoed Cambodian war memorials. The producers had wanted to film inside Tuol Sleng but were refused by the Cambodian government, so they shot on location in Thailand. The film outraged Cambodians, leading to calls to ban Thai products. Cambodian genocide researcher Youk Chhang denounced it as insensitive and a distortion of history for commercial purposes. The incident worsened Thai-Cambodian relations, which had already turned violent during the 2003 Phnom Penh riots. The film's producers later apologized, stating they had not given the subject enough serious thought. Though banned in Cambodia, it received a wide theatrical release in Thailand and later in Singapore.

Did You Know?

• The film's prison name S-11 closely resembles the Khmer Rouge's S-21, the code for Tuol Sleng.
• The producers wanted to film inside Tuol Sleng but were refused by the Cambodian government.
• Cambodian genocide researcher Youk Chhang denounced the film as insensitive and a distortion of history.
• The film was banned in Cambodia but released widely in Thailand and later in Singapore.