Tragedy strikes Suphanburi

The Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project has the unenviable task of announcing a great loss to Thai cinema architecture. A few days prior, news reached our desk of the demolition of the theater featured on this blog's title banner - Suphanburi's Fa Siam Theater.

The Fa Siam Theater, now no more

While precise details of the theater's history were not compiled during the cursory research trip made in late 2009, the Fa Siam was an unabashed visual spectacle. Soon after documenting it, the Fa Siam's image was beamed across the internet as the gateway to an on-line world of Southeast Asian movie theater fantasy. From then on, the Fa Siam received nothing but praise. Who know's how many casual visitors to this site were drawn in, not by the literary drivel herein presented, but by the striking architecture of the Fa Siam Theater that greets the eye.  For all intents and purposes, it has been this project's logo.

As movie theater architecture in Thailand goes, the Fa Siam was about as authentic as it gets: A highly stylized piece of modernism, derivative perhaps only of Bangkok's legendary Scala Theater (right). This, in fact, has long been a point of curiosity. Noting the architectural similarities to the Scala Theater, - modern palladian windows, tapered buttresses and zig-zag cornices - I've often wondered if the Fa Siam was also a product of the master of mid-century Thai modernism, Chira Silpakanok. Further research should yield that answer.

Lobby view

Regardless of who designed it, the Fa Siam was a work of architecture that ought to have been given a second life. Sadly, there is still a dearth of preservation-mindedness in Thailand when it comes to architecture. Old movie theaters, moreover, are basically considered trash in need of removal. Even a bona fide landmark like the Scala in Bangkok is on the demolition list.

Hawking at Lert Fa market in front of the Fa Siam.

In order for Thailand to raise its international profile, a reevaluation of how to treat old architecture is much needed, lest this dynamic country arbitrarily sap itself of its inventory of cultural capital.

Dimensional signage

To the people of Suphanburi: my heart goes out to you. While your unique Banharnist political system may be making you richer with each passing day, your quaint little town is much poorer in culture now that the Fa Siam is no more.

The O.K. Rama - Suphanburi, Thailand

Photos of the O.K. Rama were buried deep inside my computer's hard drive, undisplayed on account of having no back-story data for added color. So in lieu of hard facts, here's some peripheral ones which might relate.

Spurred on by export-driven agricultural expansion and a budding manufacturing sector, stand-alone movie theaters mushroomed throughout Thailand during the 1960's and 70's. But by the early 1980's, construction of these movie megaliths slowed significantly, ending an 80-year run of architectural creativity in cinema form. Trends of the time were dictating multiple functions under one roof, catalyst to the scaled-down "mini-theaters" which began to open in department stores across the country. The marriage of department store and mini-theater was short lived, however, as the high-powered, high-consumption pact of multiplex theater and shopping mall grew to envelop the middle and high-end retail sector in all the major Thai markets. I don't think there's a single theater operating inside a department store anywhere in Thailand these days.

O.K. Rama in its plaza confines

Without having heard a single word on its history, I'm inclined to believe that the O.K Rama was a later model stand-alone theater; maybe one of the last to go up in Thailand before they started building them in department stores. Thai theaters that were built as part of residential/commercial plazas during the 1970's have a stand-outish quality compared to the surrounding buildings, captured most poignantly in the frequent use of imposing "brutalist" architecture. The O.K. Rama, however, is on the subtle side of design compared to the surrounding plaza, blending almost completely in with the adjoining buildings. A more humble look combined with the good condition of the plaza makes me think the O.K. Rama is a product of the early 1980's, right about when they stopped building stand-alone movie theaters. But I could be totally off the mark about that.

Tarp over sign

The O.K. was bought up by Thana Cineplex a number of years before it shut down, one of two theaters in Suphanburi operated by the medium-sized theater chain. The other was the Fa Siam. Had I been just one year earlier I would have had the chance to sit back and take in a flick at this late addition stand-alone movie theater. Now it's yet another empty void where there once was a neighborhood fun factory.

The Banhan-Jamsai Tower

On a side note, the above observation tower was another 1980's addition to Suphanburi. Its presence in the tiny town with a low-rise sky-line is a complete anomaly and was probably a complete waste of money, as well. It is pretty cool looking, though.

The Fa Siam Theater - Suphanburi, Thailand

"The Fa Siam Theater: Lert Fa Market," says the sign

While demolition crews merrily stamp-out what's left of Thailand's movie theater geography, a sparse handful eke it out. Infrequent in their placement and - as has been described here on several occasions - sometimes teaming with fiends in the dark, they are nonetheless markers of a fading era in Thai history. Here's a piece of it that's alive, seemingly well and a genuine example of architectural eye candy.

Enter the Market: Starring Fa Siam

The Fa Siam Theater serves as the economic anchor of Lert Fa Market - an open-air fresh market in the heart of downtown Suphanburi. It's one of the few remaining theaters in Thailand that still operates in such an environment. Local vendors lauded the aging picture house for its crowd-drawing capabilities. Everyday around noon, just before the Fa Siam's first daily screening, movie goers swarm the market, bringing a reliable flurry of sales to the surrounding businesses.

Pork satay on sale in front of the Fa Siam Theater.

A frequently ignored, yet highly important aspect of stand-alones - they provide respite for the tired and weary in sitting form. Shelter from the pouring rain or blazing sun can be found beneath the marquee.

These guys were waiting for a van to return them to military duty.

A handsome lobby beckons with arched windows and square columns.

Locals dated the theater to between 30 and 50 years ago. Although its original name survives, the Fa Siam is now a Thana Cineplex - subsidiary of Pranakorn Films and the movie exhibition branch of their vertically integrated triumvirate, which also includes film production and distribution. If you're a regular of the SEA Theater Project then you've already read how regional distributors squeezed the local theater owners of their profits and out of business. If not you can read the version I was told here. Given, it's just one interview and one side of the coin, but it makes for an interesting case study all the same.

Signage

There it is, in all its exotic glory: the Fa Siam Theater. Some have said it looks like a jewelry box, others have likened it to a crown. In this photo there's something about it's juxtaposition with the surrounding buildings that reminds me of a blossoming flower.

Fa Siam means Siamese Sky