Ten years ago, when I first became interested in Thai movies, I bought “Mekhong Full Moon Party”. Honestly, I didn’t know anything about it, but thought the cover art was interesting, so I added it to my online shopping cart. That and five other Thai movies were shipped to me in the US and, from that first package, I was hooked on Thai films.
Ten years later, Mekhong Full Moon Party is still one of my favoriteThai movies. I’ve seen it at least six times and am getting ready to watch it again — tonight.
It tells the story of Kahn, from Nong Khai, who’s now a student in Bangkok. He travels back to his hometown to celebrate the famous Naga Fireballs festival and it’s here that we learn Khan’s secret.
Based on the real-life Naga Fireballs festival, where fireballs actually fly up out of the river and disappear into the sky, Mekhong Full Moon Party stars the very cute Anuchyd Sapanphong as Kahn, and the amazing Noppadol Duangporn as his old monk friend, Luang Por Loh. It’s directed by Jira Maligool, who also directed another of my favorite Thai movies “Fan Chan”.
If you want to learn about Thai culture and the traditional way of life, this movie shows it. It’s funny, dramatic and beautifully filmed, and an absolute gem of the Thai cinema, that should be watched over and over again.
You can watch the whole movie on YouTube, with English subtitles, (see video below), but if you do, please buy the video if you can find it. This director is well worth supporting.