MAJOR CINEPLEX – The latest short film accompanying the playing of the king’s anthem at Major Cinemas features nothing but people crying, according to multiple reports.
The film, whose director and production company are unknown, is a compilation of slow-motion clips of Thai citizens looking at His Majesty Bhumipol Adulyadej, who is not pictured, and weeping openly.
The context of the clips include His Majesty’s upcountry trips in the 1950s and 1960s, motorcades in the 1980s through the present, and crowds gathered for various birthday speeches and appearances at the Throne Hall over the years. Other parts show people standing before His Majesty’s image, though the image is only implied and not pictured. In every sequence, Thai people are seen bowing, presenting a wai, or standing, but always crying profusely, racked by emotion, and unable to maintain their composure.
The anthem itself is sung by a young girl, in a lonely, unaccompanied voice.
The ending of the film shows the collective reaction of several dozen Thais in the front of a larger crowd, falling to their knees and opening their mouths in silent anguish as a blurred vehicle passes by in the immediate foreground. The people look to the heavens, or simply drop their heads all the way to the ground, as the music fades and the harrowing, symphonic sound of Thai men, women, and children crying like abandoned babies fills the theater.
A spokesperson for Major Cinema said that the new film was an attempt to express Thai people’s love for their king.
