A new teacher arrives at a small village in rural Thailand. He has just left the monkhood and has taken a job at the local school in a quest to discover life outside the monastery. He finds that one of his pupils is a mute girl who is being bullied by the other children in the class. Both the teacher and the girl must face the challenges and cruelties of the real world. The girl retreats into a fantasy world, finding solace in the forest with a strange wild boy. The teacher struggles to bring her back, whilst at the same time himself questioning the world of reality. The worlds of fantasy and reality clash with tragic consequences.
Cinematography
Thai jungle as both sanctuary and prison—gorgeous and suffocating.
Acting
Wannasa Wintawong's silent performance devastates without a word.
Direction
Spurrier blurs fantasy/horror until you can't trust either.
Director
Paul Spurrier
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Paul Spurrier learned Thai specifically to shoot this film; it's one of the few Western-directed Thai-language features.
The film deliberately subverts Thai horror tropes—no vengeful ghost, just systemic cruelty wearing the mask of folklore.
