''Dark Heaven'' ( th, สวรรค์มืด or ''Sawan mued'') is a

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Rattana Pestonji Rattana Pestonji ( th, รัตน์ เปสตันยี; ) was a Thai film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer and is regarded as the father of contemporary Thai film. Although his filmography was brief, his films placed ...

and written by

Suwat Woradilok Suwat Woradilok ( th, สุวัฒน์ วรดิลก, July 14, 1923 in Bangkok – April 15, 2007, Amphoe Si Racha, Chonburi Province) was a Thai writer. He produced a variety of works, including short stories, novels, plays, scripts for ...

Plot

A poor orphan girl, Nien, is on the run after stealing some food that a wealthy man had purchased to feed some dogs. She takes refuge with a singing garbage collector named Choo, who hides Nien in his garbage cart while the wealthy man and a policeman search for the girl. Choo then takes Nien back to his humble shack and gives her shelter. The pair fall in love, but their romance is cut short when he is drafted into the army and sent off to war. For a time, Nien takes over Choo's job as garbage collector, until she is adopted by a wealthy woman, who treats Nien as the daughter she never had. Choo comes back from the war, blinded by an explosion, Nien, while experiencing unimagined luxuries, is tortured by the conflict between her newfound wealthy lifestyle and her simple life with Choo.

Cast

*Sutape Wongkamheng *Seubneung Kanpai * Pensri Poomchoosri *Adisak Sawatnan *Chalee Intharawijit *Prasitisak Singhala * Brandon Archbald *Poonsawat Teemakorn *NellyNut

Production

''Dark Heaven'' was

’s first color film. It was produced for Kachara Film company, and shot at Rattana's own Hanuman Film studios. Written and produced by

, the story had previously been made into a television drama. At least three of the people involved with the production went to be named

Thailand National Artist The National Artist ( th, ศิลปินแห่งชาติ, , ) is a title given annually by the Office of the National Culture Commission of Thailand, recognizing notable Thai artists in the area of intangible cultural heritage such ...

s: The husband-and-wife team of producer-screenwriter Suwat and singer-actress Pensri Poomchoosri, as well as Chalee Intharawijit. The film was screened as part of a retrospective to Rattana at the 2005

Pusan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...

. The Thai Film Foundation released the film on DVD, with English subtitles, in 2007.

External links

*
Dark Heaven
' at the

*
Dark Heaven
' DVD at the Thai Film Foundation 1958 films 1950s musical comedy-drama films Thai-language films 1950s romantic comedy-drama films Films directed by Rattana Pestonji Thai romantic comedy-drama films 1950s romantic musical films Thai national heritage films 1958 comedy films 1958 drama films {{romantic-musical-film-stub