The Long Walk (Bor Mi Vanh Chark), a Lao science fiction/drama film, will be the first Lao film to be available on Netflix, where it will begin streaming on 15 August.
The film premiered in the Giornate degli Autori section of the 76th Venice International Film Festival in 2019. It was directed by Lao-American director Mattie Do, who also directed the first Lao horror film.
The Long Walk was officially released in Laos in February 2021 with English subtitles, according to the Lao movie theater Major Platinum Cineplex.
In the dark and gripping film, an elderly Laotian hermit discovers that the ghost of a road accident victim can transport him fifty years back in time to the moment of his mother’s death. The resulting drama is a complex and macabre tale of trauma, mortality, and the terrible difficulty of coming to terms with the past.
The hermit, played by the legendary actor Siengyan Chanthalungsy, is suspected by police of involvement in the death of a missing woman.
During an interview with Geekvibesnation, the film’s director spoke about her belief in ghosts and the Laotians’ beliefs in ghosts.
“I want to believe. For the Laotian they’re real. They’re present daily. They’re tangible and they’re here, even if we can’t see them, or feel them,” said Mattie Do.
Mattie Do also directed the Lao films Chanthaly (2012) and Dearest Sister (2016).
The film is available on regional Netflix in Thailand and Laos, as well as on western streaming platforms including Apple TV, Amazon, and Shudder.
