In the 1990s, before The Pirate Bay and House RCA cinema, “Mr. Van” was a mysterious purveyor of pirated indie and art house films. From his Van Video shop, he sold bootleg VHS cassettes and DVDs of films from early Akira Kurosawa to the slacker verite of Todd Solondz.
With “The Master,” Director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit satisfies indie film lovers with his documentary approach to telling the story of Van through the experiences of his customers, some of whom would grow up to make films touched by his influence, or at a minimum, his illicit wares.
The film’s departs from his previous work, the experimental “Mary is Happy, Mary is Happy,” with a documentary-style approach featuring interviews with film industry forces such as Songyos Sugmakanan (“Fan Chan” and “Hormones”) and Banjong Pisathanakun (“Shutter”) to tell the story of Van and how he influenced Thailand’s young filmmakers.
Through their interviews audiences piece together a narrative. Van (Called P’Van because of his signature glasses) sold his hard-to-find titles at his small store in Chatuchak. It grew popular through word of mouth and early internet channels such as Pantip, however people rarely mentioned the name Van Video in public for fear the shop would be shut down. His customer base was made up of present day film directors that credit him for establishing the indie movie scene in Thailand.
The entire documentary is a series of interviews of film directors, lecturers, journalists, and other people related to the industry. Despite having only one setting, Nawapol keeps it lively by skipping and leaping between the interviewees to give the documentary his own narrative rhythm, making it seem like a long anecdote. Not to mention its curiosity-inducing music. It tells the story of Van, but despite never introducing him to the audience – he sort of vanished after the shop closed – the audience feels like they’ve gone back in time to meet him personally.
There’s also the wit of the subjects themselves to enjoy, and a fair amount of dry humor that film students or anyone who loves independent films will find relatable.
Throughout the documentary, piracy is one of the major topics that is discussed. Like many other ethical issues, there are two sides to every story. Piracy can be troublesome for filmmakers, but it can also be beneficial in terms of promoting the film. The documentary does well by exploring both the positive and negative aspects of piracy and how it influences artists.
Although this one-setting film is 83 minutes long, it passes without any lapse of attention or interest. A film like this risks being an inside conversation between members of a niche audience, but its candid, yet surprisingly humorous, interviews alone can keep the interest of a general audience and possibly leave some inspired. For now, the documentary is shown only in Thai with no English subtitles, but they’ll likely come along soon enough.
“The Master” is showing Thursday onward at House RCA. Nawapol said its original run through Dec. 10 may be extended if there’s enough interest. After that a heavily censored version will air on True Visions, so audiences should catch it on the big fucking screen.
And here’s the lol-worthy “Star Van: The Fake Awakens” trailer released yesterday:
Photos: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit
