The Road to Mandalay (2016)

Directed by: Midi Z | 108 minutes | drama | Actors: Kai Ko, Ke-Xi Wu

When we think of refugees and immigration, we often think of people from Africa or the Middle East who come to Europe. However, Europe is by no means the only destination – migrants and refugees also move within Africa and Asia in search of a safe haven or a better life. With ‘The Road to Mandalay’, director Midi Z draws attention to the invisible suffering of Burmese immigrants in Thailand.

In ‘The Road to Mandalay’, young Lien Ching (Wu Ke-xi) is illegally smuggled from Burma to Bangkok. In Bangkok she meets A-kuo (Kai Ko), a boy from the same village. Both are looking for a better life. They hope to travel to Taiwan via Bangkok in due course. However, because they both have no papers, it is difficult for them to find work in Bangkok. Time and again, their attempts fail, through the exploitation of shady employers or through the intervention of the Thai authorities. Lien, in particular, becomes more and more desperate, and goes further and further in her efforts to earn money.

‘The Road to Mandalay’ is an intimate, modest film. Long, silent shots allow the viewer to soak up the atmosphere of shadowy factory sites, sweaty rooms in which the main characters reside, and the lively streets of Bangkok. Midi Z mainly relies on the realistic playing of Ke-xi and Ko, without relying on editing tricks or dramatic music. This subtle rendering makes the film chillingly believable. At one point, an accident occurs at the factory where Lien works. In a Hollywood movie, this would be a dramatic scene, with fast editing and exciting music. This kind of fuss is not for Midi Z – we hear a bang, it gets dark and the camera follows Lien as she walks to the scene. We don’t hear exactly what happened, we only see an injured worker. That’s all that is needed – it is immediately clear that these people have to work under life-threatening conditions.

In the West we hear very little about the illegal Burmese workers in Thailand. With ‘The Road to Mandalay’ they get a face. A face that doesn’t scream for attention, but calmly shows us what their lives look like. The film does not give the viewer an emphatic message, but it is not necessary either – after seeing this film there is no doubt about how bad these people have it.