I’ll give some recommendations further down but I want to start with some resources on Thai cinema and some notes on seeing Thai movies in Thailand, which is definitely a thing that should be on everyone’s Thailand travel itinerary! I also briefly discuss the Thai Film Museum in a suburb of Bangkok.
First off, I don’t know any critics who regularly cover Thai films, but there’s a great blog (sadly retired since 2016) on Thai film called Wise Kwai’s Thai Film Journal, with a few thousand posts since it began in 2003. The writer’s top 10 is listed on the right side of the page. The site has a mix of reviews and news, if you just want reviews you can browse them here. From scanning reviews, he seems to have good taste, and I look forward to spending a lot of time on this site when I one day do a deep dive into Thai cinema. I don’t know what Wise Kwai is up to these days, but I want him to know that he is missed.
I found another blog called Thai World View which is a Thai movie database, quite useful especially considering Wikipedia and IMDb are lackluster for Thailand (though the Cinema of Thailand Wikipedia page is good and worth reading). You can search for films that received a 5/5 rating (though other than the rating there’s little opinion given, the text accompanying each title mostly consists of plot summaries), or for specific genres (I gotta dig into these Buddhism movies), or through directors’ filmographies, and more, and there are some best-of lists by decade on the FAQ page. There are also pages on film history, old theaters, co-productions with other countries, and other fun random Thai cinema things. The website contains much more on Thailand (that page is good for browsing the cinema pages, too), I haven’t had a chance to go through much of it but I’m impressed with the level of detail.
I also look forward to reading Thai Cinema: The Complete Guide, edited by Mary J. Ainslie and Katarzyna Ancuta. From the preview it looks like a great overview of major Thai films and filmmakers. I’ll have to search for some more books. A Century of Thai Cinema looks more like a coffee table picture book with posters and other promotional material, likely fun and valuable if not super informative. I also know of Thai Cinema Uncensored Paperback by Matthew Hunt which looks very good. Though it focuses on censorship, it seems to have a lot of interesting information on the history and inner workings of the industry.
For people who love visiting or just reading about and seeing pictures of old cinemas, there’s an excellent blog called The Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project where Phil Jablon photographs and writes about old cinemas, mostly single screens, all around Thailand and its neighbors. I check the blog for every place I go in Thailand to see if he’s written about any theaters there. Though very few old cinemas are still operating in Thailand, many buildings are still standing and I’ve gotten to visit a number of them. In some cases, I never would have found them if it weren’t for the blog. The blog also has great photos of the theaters and interesting stories about them that I love reading, sometimes giving really unusual historical details about the places they’re in. Jablon has published the coffee table book Thailand's Movie Theatres: Relics, Ruins and The Romance of Escape which I’ve flipped through and would love to buy if/when I settle down somewhere.
The great Thai history blog Siam Rat has a post on Thai film history, highly recommended.
Also, if you’re a film fan, I recommend going to the Thai Film Museum at the Thai Film Archives, on the outskirts of Bangkok. It’s probably not something to prioritize on a short trip, especially since it’s at least half an hour from anywhere else you’d be in the city, and it would take up a good chunk of the day to visit. But for a hardcore film fan it’s a real treat and something to consider, and people who live in or visit Bangkok for longer stays should consider it even if they aren’t film geeks. It’s the nicest film museum I’ve ever been to (not saying much, maybe I’ve been to three), and it can be clubbed with some other activities. Don Wai floating market is nearby, as are some other things, and I alway really enjoy visiting random suburbs of Bangkok (there’s a nice university to walk through, nice cafes, etc). I went by Grab, it took around 45 minutes from where I was staying. Depending on where you are staying, you can catch the 515 AC bus.
If I recall correctly it’s free but you have to bring your passport for some reason. The website frustrates me but contains more info about visiting. Current hours are 9:30am to 5:30pm, Tuesday through Sunday, and there are specific tour timings for some of the best parts of the museum, so plan around that when you get there (see here for more info). There are a number of very fun and well done exhibits, some permanent and some temporary, with a mix of general filmmaking and film history as well as Thai film history. I loved seeing sets and props from famous Thai movies, and there are actual still-working old film viewing devices such as penny arcades and peep shows. I got to see Lumiere Brothers shorts projected on film, in a recreation of the venue where they held their first screening. Very cool! I was surprised at how elaborate and well crafted it all was. The staff was also very nice, and there’s even a nice gift shop. I’d love to go back!
They also have a great library and several screening venues, with screenings almost every day (schedule here, mostly Thai movies, most don’t have subtitles but some do, you can find out by clicking on the film). I’ve wanted to go back to see some movies but it hasn’t worked out. When I was there I walked into one of the auditoriums (I forgot which one) and it was great, a large theater with perfect projection, showing an old documentary with amazing footage of Bangkok’s Chinatown.
The Thai Film Archive restores and preserves Thai films and they seem to be doing a great job. Their YouTube page has a lot of great old documentary footage (The Archaeologist's Journey to Siam 1929 is the first thing that popped up, and there is much more!), and though they have classic movies as well, the films are mostly unsubtitled, are not in HD, and are watermarked. The picture quality is generally pretty good looking though. I would pay good money for a streaming service of their offerings, with good subtitles, in HD, with no watermark.
Seeing Thai Movies In Thailand
I don’t think a lot of people realize that Thai movies play in most Thai theaters with English subtitles. This is pretty unique, I think. I haven’t traveled to any other non-English speaking country where I could go into the average theater and watch a local movie with English subtitles. Most people might not consider seeing local movies as a thing to do when traveling, but I think it’s one of the best things to do and I hope I can convince people to go see some Thai movies. My wife and I are usually the only visibly non-Thai looking people seeing Thai movies, so I guess people aren’t taking advantage of this very special opportunity as much as they could.
The two big theater chains in Thailand are Major and SFX. Most nice malls will have one of them, and you can look for them wherever you visit. Outside of the chains, the one independent theater I’ve gone to is The House cinema at Samyan mall in Bangkok, probably my favorite theater in the country. There are some other indie theaters in Bangkok such as Doc Club & Pub but Thai movies are uncommon at them. The websites will tell you if there are subtitles.
If you are in a very small town, the theaters probably don’t have subtitles, but the big towns/small cities tend to have them. I saw Thai movies with subtitles in Lampang and Khon Kaen, for example. Chances are if the theater is in a Central Mall, then there will be subtitles. Just check the websites, or if you are there in person you can look at the booking kiosks or ask at the counter.