Syndromes and a Censor

The censors ordered director Apichatpong Weerasethakul to remove scenes from Syndromes and a Century showing a monk playing a guitar, doctors drinking whiskey, doctors kissing and monks playing with a radio-controlled toy in April 2007.   Weerasethakul refused and withdrew the film from distribution in Thailand, prompting an outcry against outdated censorship laws.   The latest cut ordered by the censors was of statues of Prince Songkhla, who is known as the father of the medical profession in Thailand, and of the Princess Mother.

Censorship at the time was still under the control of the police – although it was due to be transferred to the Ministry of Culture in May 2008 – and police Maj. Gen Somdej Khaokam, who chaired the meeting of the censorship committee on 11^th March, stated that, ‘We maintained the decision of the previous committee because those are inappropriate images.’  

Weerasethakul said of the film, which was commissioned for Austria’s Mozart celebrations: ‘They said my film is not artistic, and that I disrespect the medical profession.’  He also stated that he would show the film in mutilated form, with black tape used in place of cuts, as ‘a statement, and a historical record of Thailand.’ [ADD]

Further Reading:

2008

Thailand: 2008