Mon-Rak Transistor Is Back at IFC Center for NYAFF

By The Backlot

@backlotfriends

Two young people dance at a night carnival with a glowing neon Ferris wheel in the background, from Mon-Rak Transistor

Mon-Rak Transistor screens at IFC Center this Wednesday as part of NYAFF's 25th Anniversary Rediscoveries.

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang made this Thai musical comedy in 2001. The film follows Pan, a young man with a dream of becoming a luk thung singer who goes AWOL from the army rather than face a life he didn't choose. His pregnant wife waits at home with a transistor radio and a lot of patience. The army comes looking. What follows is a spiral through love, ambition, and bad luck that doesn't behave like any one genre.

NYAFF has been running for 25 years. This is one of the films they're bringing back to mark it. If you haven't seen Thai cinema from this era, this is a good place to start.

Before this: Last Life in the Universe.

Quick Facts

Mon-Rak Transistor Is Back at IFC Center for NYAFF

DirectorPen-Ek Ratanaruang

CastSuppakorn Kitsuwan, Siriyakorn Pukkavesh, Black Phomtong, Somlek Sakdikul, Porntip Papanai

GenreComedy, Music, Drama, Romance

Release2001-12-28

Runtime115 min

Rated6.9/10

Instagram caption

Mon-Rak Transistor screens at IFC Center this Wednesday as part of NYAFF 2026. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's 2001 Thai musical comedy about a man who goes AWOL to chase a singing dream is a 25th anniversary rediscovery. #NYAFF #Backlot

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Mon-Rak Transistor screens at IFC Center this Wednesday. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's 2001 Thai musical comedy about a man who goes AWOL from the army to chase a singing career. One of the best Thai films from that era.

Mon-Rak Transistor screens at IFC Center this Wednesday as part of NYAFF's 25th Anniversary Rediscoveries.

NYAFF has been running for 25 years. This is one of the films they're bringing back to mark it. If you haven't seen Thai cinema from this era, this is a good place to start.

Before this: Last Life in the Universe.