''The King of the White Elephant'' ( th, พระเจ้าช้างเผือก or ''Prajao Changpeuk''; RTGS: Phrachao Chang Phueak) is a 1940 Thai historical

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- ...

. Based on a novel and produced by

Pridi Banomyong Pridi Banomyong ( th, ปรีดี พนมยงค์, , ; 11 May 1900 – 2 May 1983), also known by his noble title Luang Praditmanutham ( th, หลวงประดิษฐ์มนูธรรม) was a Thai politician and professo ...

and released before Thailand's involvement in World War II, the

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the i ...

film carried a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

message from anti-war interests in

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 b ...

, that Thailand should remain neutral, and only go to war to defend its sovereignty against foreign invaders. However, on December 8, 1941, Thailand was occupied by the Japanese and officially sided with the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

powers during the war.

Plot

Set in the

Ayutthaya Kingdom The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is consi ...

of the 16th century, King Chakra is going about his usual palace duties, granting audiences to his advisers, including his Lord Chamberlain, who is keen to see the king fulfill his royal duty of taking 366 wives, including, hopefully among them, the chamberlain's own daughter. However, the threat of invasion by the King of Honsa (Thai: หงสาวดี

Hongsawadi Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon langua ...

, Burmese: Hanthawaddy kingdom of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

) has King Chakra pre-occupied. The peace-loving King Chakra at first wants to negotiate for peace, but is unsuccessful, and finds himself forced to go to war to stop the Honsa ( Hanthawaddy) invasion.

Cast

* Renu Kritayakon as King Chakra * Nit Mahakanok as Governor of Kanburi * Pairin Nilsen as Renoo * Suvat Nilsen as Lord Chamberlain * Pradab Rabilvongse as King of Honsa * Luang Srisurang as Minister of War

Production

, at the time Minister of Finance in the government of Prime Minister

Plaek Pibulsonggram Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram ( th, แปลก พิบูลสงคราม ; alternatively transcribed as ''Pibulsongkram'' or ''Pibulsonggram''; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964), locally known as Marshal P. ( th, จอมพล � ...

, produced the film, which was based on an English-language novel he had written. The cast of the movie were lecturers and students from

Thammasat University Thammasat University ( Abrv: TU th, มธ.; th, มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์, , ) is a public research university in Thailand with campuses in Tha Phra Chan area of Phra Nakhon District near the Grand Pala ...

, which Pridi had founded. The film was made with the intent of conveying Pridi's conception of peace to international audiences, and was filmed in English, the first Thai film to do so. The film also took its themes from

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

philosophy, that there is no happiness that is greater than peace, but also carried the message that Pridi thought Thailand was ready to fight a war of aggression by any foreign invaders. The movie was screened in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. After Japan invaded Thailand on December 8, 1941, Pridi became a leader of the

Free Thai Movement The Free Thai Movement ( th, เสรีไทย; ) was a Thai underground resistance movement against Imperial Japan during World War II. Seri Thai were an important source of military intelligence for the Allies in the region. Background I ...

resistance movement, while the Thai military dictators sided with Japan in the Axis Powers and declared war on Great Britain and the United States.Pridi Banonyoung biography
Phuket Film Festival, retrieved 2007-10-16

Restoration

''The King of the White Elephant'' was among two films chosen for a restoration project launched by the Thailand Ministry of Culture, with cooperation from

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

and the Thai Film Foundation. The film is the oldest surviving Thai film in its complete form. The 35-mm negative of the film had actually been lost during World War II, but a 16-mm print that had been archived in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

survived, and a new 35-mm copy was made from that print. Also, two versions of the film survive, the full 100-minute version and a 50-minute version. Both versions of the unrestored film were released on DVD in 2005 by the Thai Film Foundation. The restored print was presented at the inaugural Phuket Film Festival in October 2007. The other film selected for the 2005 restoration effort was ''The Boat House'' (''Ruen Pae''), a 1962 musical romance.http://www.technicolor.com/NR/rdonlyres/0650CEFE-B6A7-49BF-8EA8-142BB7D45B0E/0/thai.pdf (PDF)

References

External links