''Hotel Angel'' ( th, เทพธิดาโรงแรม, or ''Theptida rong ram'', also known as ''Angel'') is a

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

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

Chatrichalerm Yukol Prince Chatrichalerm Yukol ( th, หม่อมเจ้าชาตรีเฉลิม ยุคล; ; born November 29, 1942), or usually known by his nickname Mui ( th, มุ้ย), is a Thai film director, screenwriter film producer and ...

, about a young woman (Viyada Umarin) who becomes involved in the

sex trade The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

. The film was premiered on 2 March 1974. Director Yukol spent nine months in a

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

researching the plot. During filming demonstrations broke out in

Ratchadamnoen Avenue Ratchadamnoen Avenue ( th, ถนนราชดำเนิน, , , also spelled Rajdamnern) is a historic road in the Phra Nakhon and Dusit Districts of Bangkok, Thailand. Ratchadamnoen Avenue may be the most politically charged thoroughfare ...

, Bangkok; part of the

1973 Thai popular uprising The popular uprising of 14 October 1973 ( th, เหตุการณ์ 14 ตุลา, , ; also , , ) was a watershed event in Thailand's History of Thailand, history. The uprising resulted in the end of the ruling military dictatorship of a ...

. Yukol left the studio and filmed the demonstrations, part of this footage was used in the film. The film was inducted into the Thai National Heritage list of films in 2016.

Plot

Malee is a farm girl from

Northern Thailand Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is geographically characterised by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them. Though like most of Thailand ...

who decides to sneak away to

with her boyfriend, Chate, but shortly after arriving, Chate disappears and Malee finds herself held captive in a "

love hotel A love hotel is a type of short-stay hotel found around the world operated primarily for the purpose of allowing guests privacy for sexual activities. The name originates from "Hotel Love" in Osaka, which was built in 1968 and had a rotating s ...

". To pay for the room, she is forced to sleep with men. At first, she is horrified by what she must do, but after a time, she becomes resigned and accepts her situation as fate. With her debt paid, she starts to earn money working as a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

, giving her the ability to buy new clothes and send money home to her father, telling him she is working as a

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Nota ...

. As Malee is taking her clothes off, her father is putting new windows on his house. Malee gains a reputation in her community as a person to be relied upon to help break new girls in. One particularly hard case refuses to be accepting as Malee was, and despite Malee's advice continues to be rebellious and eventually commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Even after the death of her charming pimp (Sorapong Chatree), Malee continues until one day she is able to become independent of the sex trade. The ending is ambiguous. After being chatted up by a man, she runs to a shop to buy jeans and a shirt. Having put on these new clothes, she throws her old working clothes away and walks away.

Cast

* Viyada Umarin as Malee

DVD

A DVD of the film was released in Thailand on an all-region, PAL disc, with English language subtitles, by the Mangpong retail video chain.

References

External links

''Hotel Angel''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

1974 films Thai drama films Thai-language films 1970s exploitation films Films about prostitution in Thailand Films directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol Thai national heritage films {{Thailand-film-stub