In Thailand, democracy can turn into dictatorship at a disturbingly rapid rate. Since 1932, there have been thirteen different coups and twenty new constitutions; meaning that control of the power changes over to the military at an average of every seven years, and the rulebook is majorly rewritten, against the people’s favour, every five. Breaking the Cycle (Aekaphong Saransate, Thanakrit Duangmaneeporn; 2024) captures the outstanding efforts that inspired a once-in-a-generation movement to do as the title says, once and for all. Triumphs, tribulations and all, Thai politics will never be the same.
In the 2019 elections, the Future Forward Party (FFP) aimed to shake Thailand free from the shackles of tyranny that were put on the country by Prayut Chan-o-cha and the military junta after the 2014 coup, and by the crippling constitution that was put in place after. Directors Saransate and Duangmaneeporn give us a fly-on-the-wall view of the FFP and its charismatic and courageous leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. It is a brilliantly balanced look into how this businessman, a handsome heir to privilege and power who is admired as a “daddy”, genuinely guides a movement for all, even the most oppressed people.
Although Breaking the Cycle (2024) can be described as a documentary of a more conventional calibre, Director Saransate and Duangmaneeporn still manage to creatively capture the youthful exuberance surrounding FFP and Thanathron during that 2019 election cycle. How the piece presents the use of social media as young people power the FFP’s politics–a multimedia approach–is particularly effective. Breaking the Cycle (2024) captivates its viewers. It is as if we can feel the excitement of this new wave of e-democracy in real time, as if we were right there for it.
Breaking the Cycle (2024) is powerful yet it is still poignant; it is equally an examination of the FFP as it is of Thai youth and their fight for freedom. Many would dismiss this younger, social media generation’s potential role in politics, demeaning it as novelty. Director Saransate and Duangmaneeporn brilliantly counter this by showing how there’s bona fide faces behind these profile pictures; introducing us to people such as Cherry, who are examples of how virality can turn into more votes, and how mere followers can become fighters on the frontline for freedom.
Spellbinding storytelling combines with pensive pacing in Breaking the Cycle (2024), allowing for it to properly pack a punch. Director Saransate and Duangmaneeporn’s approach to the project is in the spirit of the principles of the movement they mention as it empowers young people and augment those who are marginalised, all whilst providing a poised appraisal of a leader whose position in power interdependent with the people who put him there. Although tyranny is hanging tough, Thailand’s new kids on the (voting) bloc are heading towards democracy, step by step. (Aradi Ghalizha) (Ed. Vanis)
Film Details
Breaking the Cycle
Aekaphong Saransate, Thanakrit Duangmaneeporn | 117 Min | 2024 | Thailand
Official Selection for Utopia/Dystopia
Festival Film Dokumenter 2024
Screening Schedule
Nov. 6 | 15:30 WIB | Militaire Societeit, TBY
