Dark Heaven is a 1958

1958 in film

The year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....

 musical

Musical film

The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...

-comedy

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

-romance

Romance film

Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...

-drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 directed by Rattana Pestonji

Rattana Pestonji

Rattana Pestonji was a Thai film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer and is regarded as the father of contemporary Thai film. Although his filmography was brief, his films placed Thai cinema on the world stage. He also pushed for innovations, and was one of the first Thai...

 and written by Suwat Woradilok

Suwat Woradilok

Suwat Woradilok was a Thai writer. He produced a variety of works, including short stories, novels, plays, scripts for television dramas, radio dramas and screenplays. He had several pen names, including S. Voradilok, Phrai Visanu and Rapheeporn. He was named a Thailand National Artist for...

.

Plot

A poor orphan girl, Nien, is on the run after stealing some food that a wealthy man had purchased to feed some dogs. She takes refuge with a singing garbage collector named Choo, who hides Nien in his garbage cart while the wealthy man and a policeman search for the girl.

Choo then takes Nien back to his humble shack and gives her shelter. The pair fall in love, but their romance is cut short when he is drafted

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

 into the army and sent off to war.
For a time, Nien takes over Choo's job as garbage collector, until she is adopted by a wealthy woman, who treats Nien as the daughter she never had.

Choo comes back from the war, blinded by an explosion, Nien, while experiencing unimagined luxuries, is tortured by the conflict between her newfound wealthy lifestyle and her simple life with Choo.

Cast

• Sutape Wongkamheng
• Seubneung Kanpai
• Pensri Poomchoosri
  Pensri Poomchoosri
  Pensri Pomchoosri was a Thai pop singer and actress, active for more than five decades from the 1940s. She was named a National Artist of Thailand in 1991. She was married to writer Suwat Woradilok, also a National Artist, who died on April 15, 2007...
  
  
• Adisak Sawatnan
• Chalee Intharawijit
• Prasitisak Singhala
• Poonsawat Teemakorn
• NellyNut

Production

Dark Heaven was Rattana Pestonji

Rattana Pestonji

Rattana Pestonji was a Thai film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer and is regarded as the father of contemporary Thai film. Although his filmography was brief, his films placed Thai cinema on the world stage. He also pushed for innovations, and was one of the first Thai...

’s first color film. It was produced for Kachara Film company, and shot at Rattana's own Hanuman Film studios. Written and produced by Suwat Woradilok

Suwat Woradilok

Suwat Woradilok was a Thai writer. He produced a variety of works, including short stories, novels, plays, scripts for television dramas, radio dramas and screenplays. He had several pen names, including S. Voradilok, Phrai Visanu and Rapheeporn. He was named a Thailand National Artist for...

, the story had previously been made into a television drama.

At least three of the people involved with the production went to be named Thailand National Artist

Thailand National Artist

The National Artist is a title given annually by the Office of the National Culture Commission of Thailand, recognizing notable Thai artists in literature, fine arts, visual arts, applied arts and performing arts .Since 1985, the honors have been presented on...

s: The husband-and-wife team of producer-screenwriter Suwat and singer-actress Pensri Poomchoosri

Pensri Poomchoosri

Pensri Pomchoosri was a Thai pop singer and actress, active for more than five decades from the 1940s. She was named a National Artist of Thailand in 1991. She was married to writer Suwat Woradilok, also a National Artist, who died on April 15, 2007...

, as well as Chalee Intharawijit.

The film was screened as part of a retrospective to Rattana at the 2005 Pusan International Film Festival

Pusan International Film Festival

Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...

. The Thai Film Foundation released the film on DVD, with English subtitles, in 2007.

External links

• Dark Heaven at the Pusan International Film Festival
  Pusan International Film Festival
  Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
  
  
• Dark Heaven DVD at the Thai Film Foundation