THE SCAR (PLAE KAO)

Cherd Songsri / Thailand / 1977 / Fiction / 133min
with English subtitles

Cherd Songsri’s masterpiece was made with the intention of “conveying the Thai spirit to the world”, and today it is regarded as one of the best Thai films ever made. Adapted from a classic novel by Mai Muengderm, The Scar is a romantic tragedy that revolves around a young couple, Kwan and Riam. In the fields of Bang Kapi, the star-crossed lovers make a vow at the shrine of the banyan tree to love each other forever. But their romance is shattered because Riam’s father, a rival of Kwan’s, objects their relationship and sends Riam away to Bangkok to live with an aristocratic lady, who later adopts the girl as her daughter. When Riam returns to visit her sick mother in Bang Kapi, Kwan finds out that his lover is no longer the same person he once knew.

The Scar was released in 1977 and became the highest-grossing Thai film at that time. In 1981, the film won the Montgolfiere d’Or Award at the Festival des Three Continents in Nantes, and was later shown in many international film festivals.

The Film Archive (Public Organization) carried out the restoration from the original camera and sound negatives preserved at the Film Archive. Since the color of the negatives was severely deteriorated and had cyan dominant hue, the color correction used a vintage print as the reference. The digital restoration and cleaning took 2,300 hours and was completed in 2018 by L’Immagine Ritrovata.

THE SCAR (PLAE KAO)

Production Company: Cherdchai Pappayon
Director: Cherd Songsri
Cast: Sorapong Chatree and Nantana Ngaograjang
Restored by L’Immagine Ritrovata
Print Source: Film Archive (Public Organization), Thailand