Salween (film)
Salween (, ) is a 1994 Thai action-drama film directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol and starring Sorapong Chatree and Chatchai Plengpanich. Sombat Metanee's son, Siricoup Metanee, also stars as a young police lieutenant, newly arrived at a rough-and-tumble post in a Thai-Myanmar border town on the Salween River. The screenplay is co-written by Chatrichalerm and Stirling Silliphant. Plot A text scroll at the opening of the film gives some historical background about Myanmar (or Burma) being granted independence after World War II by the United Kingdom, without the problem of ethnic conflict with the Karen people on the country's border areas being resolved. So since then, the Burmese central government, then known as SLORC and the Karen National Liberation Army have been engaged in a war that is little known to outside people. A Thai timber baron, Tweepong, exploits the situation by courting both the KNLA and SLORC in order to have the unrest continue while his company logs the teak forests in the border region of the Salween River. Into this volatile, "wild west" atmosphere comes a young, idealistic police lieutenant, Danai, who's to take charge of the police station at the border town of Fah Soong Pha Sak. He rides into town on his motorcycle as a gun battle has erupted between the police, led by tough Sergeant Ram, against some gun thugs. Danai, wearing his crisp police uniform, ends up dumped in a pig pen, covered in mud. He then gives the unkempt, undisciplined local policemen a dressing down, saying they all must clean up and wear their uniforms. The gunmen who started the fight had been sent to kill Ram by Somsak Tweepong, son of the local "godfather". Somsak later visits Danai to invite him to his father's birthday party. Eager to carry out his duties, Danai starts a foot patrol of his mountainous district and finds that his tight brown uniform and new boots are unsuited to the rugged terrain. While sitting down to rest and care for some blisters on his feet, he encounters a man nattily dressed in white clothes chasing butterflies with a net. The man is the elder Tweepong, who gives Danai some salve. After Danai leaves, Tweepong meets with a SLORC colonel and gains intelligence about the Myanmar government's fight against the Karen. Danai attends the birthday party for Tweepong, and meets Somsak's wife, who was a former beauty queen and actress from Bangkok. She is unhappily married to Somsak and has become an alcoholic. Danai continues his tour of the district, meeting Nid, who is a teacher at a school for Thai hill-tribe children. She is also the daughter of Sergeant Ram. Her mother was a Karen woman, who was raped and killed by Somsak Tweepong's men, hence the deep resentment Ram has against Tweepong. Further education comes for Danai when fighting between the KNLA and the SLORC spills over into Thailand. As Karen troops, led by KNLA Lieutenant Tulay, are being attacked by a SLORC helicopter, they attempt to