''Invisible Waves'' ( th, คำพิพากษาของมหาสมุทร) is a 2006

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

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 ...

director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, with screenplay by

Prabda Yoon Prabda Yoon ( th, ปราบดา หยุ่น; ; born 2 August 1973 in Bangkok) is a Thai writer, novelist, filmmaker, artist, graphic designer, magazine editor, screenwriter, translator and media personality. His literary debut, ''Muang Mo ...

, cinematography by Christopher Doyle, and starring

Tadanobu Asano , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in ''Electric Dragon 80.000 V'', Kakihara in ''Ichi the Killer'', Mamoru Arita in '' Bright Future'', Hattori Genosuke in ''Zatoichi'', Kenj ...

– all people that Pen-Ek had worked with on his previous film, ''

Last Life in the Universe ''Last Life in the Universe'' (Thai title: เรื่องรัก น้อยนิด มหาศาล, ''Ruang rak noi nid mahasan'') is a 2003 Thai romantic crime film directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. The film is notable for being t ...

''. It had its world premiere at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

and was also shown at the 2006 Bangkok International Film Festival and the 2006

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

.News release, 2006
TIFF Announces Best of International Film Festival Circuit
,

(retrieved August 18, 2006).

Plot

Kyoji is a cook living in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. He works for a

restaurant in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and has been having an affair with Seiko, the wife of his boss, Wiwat, who orders Kyoji to poison her. After the deed is done, Kyoji is ordered to leave Hong Kong. He consults with the mysterious Monk, who gives him money and advice to contact Lizard. Kyoji then boards a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

, and is given a small, dreary cabin belowdecks, where nothing seems to work properly. In trying to find his way back topside, he gets lost. Finally, up on deck, he meets Noi. Noi has a baby named Nid, whom Kyoji finds hanging on the deck rail in a harness, where Noi left the child while she was swimming. Eventually, the ship reaches its destination,

Phuket Phuket (; th, ภูเก็ต, , ms, Bukit or ''Tongkah''; Hokkien:普吉; ) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, the country's largest island, and another 32 smaller islands of ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, where real life-or-death adventures begin for Kyoji as he starts to put the pieces together about what he's done.

Cast

as Kyoji *

Maria Cordero Maria Cordero, MH (), nicknamed Fat Mama (), is a singer, actress, TV Host and DJ from Hong Kong. She grew up in Hong Kong. She also has her own cooking show, Maria's Kitchen (肥媽私房菜) on Cable TV. Her fans nicknamed her "Fat Mama" (肥� ...

as Maria *

Toon Hiranyasap Toon Hiranyasap ( th, ทูน หิรัญทรัพย์; born October 24, 1954) is a Thai actor and singer. He is known for his work with Jarunee Suksawat. Early life and education Hiranyasap was born to a Thai mother and a Filipino ...

as Wiwat *

Kang Hye-jung Kang Hye-jung (born January 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress. Making her film debut in arthouse film ''Nabi'' (2001), she rose to stardom and critical acclaim in Park Chan-wook's 2003 revenge thriller '' Oldboy''. A rising star early in her c ...

as Noi *

Ken Mitsuishi is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Chaos'' and '' Tokyo Playboy Club''. Filmography Film ;1980s *'' Tora's Tropical Fever'' (1980) *'' Foster Daddy, Tora!'' (1980) *'' Sailor Suit and Machine Gun'' (1981) *''Tora-san, the Ex ...

as Lizard *

Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai (; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show ''Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network TVB over 18 years. He currently holds ...

as Monk *Tomono Kuga as Seiko

Awards and nominations

* 2006

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

– world premiere, nominated for Golden Bear. * 2006

Bangkok International Film Festival The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) ( th, เทศกาลภาพยนตร์นานาชาติกรุงเทพฯ) is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to fi ...

– in competition and opening film.

Oscar controversy

''Invisible Waves'' had been announced as Thailand's entry for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

79th Academy Awards The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...

by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, but was then withdrawn and replaced with '' Ahimsa ... Stop to Run'', which upset the ''Invisible Waves'' production company,

Five Star Production Five Star Production Co. Ltd. ( th, ไฟว์สตาร์ โปรดักชั่น) is a Thai film production company. It was founded in 1973 by Kiat Iamphungphorn and is today headed by his children, Aphiradee and her younger brothe ...

. The film federation said that the reason for the change was that a print of the film wouldn't be available in time to send to the Academy for consideration, but Five Star, sales agent Fortissimo Films and distributor Palm Pictures stated that was not true. Earlier, the federation had opposed the film's opening of the 2006 Bangkok International Film Festival, stating that since it was an international co-production it was not truly a Thai film.Thailand madness is back!
, Kaiju Shakedown (December 28, 2006).Soop Sip. October 4, 2006. "Oscar hopeful to open film fest", The Nation, Page 12A (print edition).

References

External links

* * * {{Pen-Ek Ratanaruang 2006 films 2000s Cantonese-language films 2000s English-language films Five Star Production films Hong Kong crime drama films Japanese crime drama films 2000s Japanese-language films Thai crime drama films Thai-language films Films directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang Neo-noir