Lights, Kamma, Action: Altering Life Trajectories Across Chronologies in Contemporary Thai Film

This article analyzes how Buddhist ethics, specifically the concept of kamma, is evident in the form and content of four contemporary Thai drama films, selected from the submissions of Thailand to the Academy Awards Best International Feature Film category from 2020-2024. From a narrative structure lens, flashback is a frequently-used device in these films used to connect past actions with consequences happening much later in the story, with either good or bad outcomes. Reflexive thematic analysis of these films shows that beyond just exploring kamma as a narrative technique and core concept in contemporary Thai film, the selected films can also be thematized with reference to the Four Noble Truths, the fourth of the Five Precepts, and the life of the historical Buddha. Taking a larger view, these themes taken together represent an “ethical journey” which characters undertake in their struggle to cultivate truthfulness. This article demonstrates the enduring relevance of Buddhist ethics and storytelling techniques in contemporary Thai film’s content and sequential structure. Further work can be done to apply this method of analysis across a wider selection of films from Thailand or different societies as a means of understanding prevailing ethical dilemmas.