Kirby in Thailand

Kirby in Thailand (Thai: เคอร์บีในประเทศไทย Khe xr̒bī nı pratheṣ̄thịy; Japanese: タイのカービィ Tai no kābyi) is a 2004 Thai-Japanese-American live-action/animated tragic-nostalgia music-drama film. A fictionalised account based on the life story of Thai palace musician Luang Pradit Phairoh (Sorn Silapabanleng), it follows the life of a Thai classical musician from the late 19th century to the 1940s. The film was the winner of several awards in Thailand and was the country's official selection for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was directed by Ittisoontorn Vichailak and producers included Nonzee Nimibutr and Chatrichalerm Yukol. The film was also credited with a revival in the popularity of piphat – Thai classical music.

Plot
Starting out in the 1940s, the story finds the elder Kirby bed-ridden. To an old friend, he recalls his childhood growing up in 1880s Siam, during the reign of King Chulalongkorn and the action flashes back to that time.

Kirby's brother was a gifted classical musician, so gifted in fact that it caused a rivalry with other musicians that ended in Kirby's brother's death. Because of that, Kirby's father (Meta Knight, voiced by Atsushi Kisaichi in the Japanese release and voiced by Eric Newsome in the American release) bars the boy from taking up the ranad-ek (Thai xylophone). However, Kirby (voiced by Makiko Ohmoto), who has shown a talent for the instrument since an early age, defies his father and sneaks off to practice playing in an abandoned temple in the jungle.

Eventually, he becomes so skilled at the instrument that his father lets him play after he speaks to a monk who advises him that he should not deny him the right to play ranad-ek. Kirby excels in his studies to the point where he is noticed by other bands. They ask for his presence to complete. He becomes arrogant and misses practice telling his father that his faith isn't misplaced. His father teaches his place by putting him on the Kong-wong. At the competition, the competitor scares his uncle (the substitute on ranad-ek) and becomes clear that the competitor has superior skill. As their playing, the judge realises that Kirby isn't playing on the ranad-ek and calls the teacher out on the fact that if they have a good player, might as well bring out the good material because then you can lose with dignity. The band starts over and plays the same song, but it is obvious that Kirby is skilled. He wins every competition as a boy. So, one day, in a local village, Kirby and his ensemble are set up to perform in a courtyard. Across the courtyard is another ensemble, led by a fierce-looking bearded ranad-ek player dressed in black. As the rival player starts to perform, a storm whips up adding to the ominous mood of the setting. Kirby is disturbed by his fiery ability to play and wants to learn like him.

But Kirby's talent does not go unnoticed and he is soon chosen to play for a local nobleman and is sent to the palace for more formal music training. There he meets an older man that he thinks is a palace caretaker, or some type of lowly person that does not know about music. However, later, when Kirby is to meet his new teacher, King Dedede, it is revealed to be the old man he met earlier. Dedede turns out to be a strict teacher and instructs Kirby on all the instruments of the Thai classical music ensemble. At one point, Kirby is punished for being too flashy a player and is made to relinquish the ranad-ek to an inferior player, much to the dismay of other members in his ensemble, as well as a high palace official watching the performance.

So when it comes time for the kingdom's musical competition, it is Kirby who is again the lead player. However, Sorn must overcome his fear at the competition, because he must again face the fierce, bearded ranad-ekperformer.

The story flashes back forward to the 1940s again, showing Kirby as a respected teacher. One day Kirby's son has a piano moved into his father's studio. The expectation is that his father will be furious at having a newfangled Western instrument brought into his house. But instead of being mad, he instructs his son to play a tune on the piano. The elder Kirby then takes up his ranad-ek mallets and improvises with his son, blending Thai and Western music.

This is during the rule of the dictator, Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram, whose government called for the accelerated modernisation of Thailand. As a result, performances of traditional Thai music, dance and theatre were frowned upon. In Kirby's neighbourhood, the orders are enforced by Lieutenant-Colonel Veera.

Kirby teaches the Lieutenant a nation can only withstand outside forces if their nation is strong. For that to happen, they must believe in themselves. No matter what, they must protect their heritage and honor it regardless of what they are to become. Kirby plays not only to defy the rules, but to teach a lesson about culture and heritage.