A month long winter surf trip from Sitka to Homer. Why haven't I seen the Alaska Visitors' Bureau hyping this vacation package instead of cruises?
The director of Alaska Sessions: Surfing The Last Frontier gives a brief intro in the video below.
The movie plays Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1pm at the Alaska Experience Theater.
Sunday, December 08, 2013
AIFF2013: Sunday Planning - Surfing, Mountain Climbing, Iran, Mexico, Internet Dating, And More
Tonight (well, it's already Sunday morning) I'm getting 8 hours sleep, so I need to do this quick.
NOTE 1: Everything except Everything Is Fine Here (6pm at Museum) and Hank and Asha (8pm at Bear Tooth) is at Alaska Experience Theaters.
NOTE 2: The full schedule with times, locations, and links is below the text.
Sunday starts with an easy choice
11am Mountain Climbing docs. It's the only thing on and Grand Rescue is one of the Docs in competition.
1pm is an Alaskan Surfing movie Alaska Sessions: Surfing The Last Frontier. I have a brief video with the director Fred Dickerson here. Fred will, I'm sure, be at the showing. But
1:30pm is Detroit Unleaded, one of the Features in Competition. And one of the film makers is scheduled to be there. About an Arab-American working in a gas station. (Like that tells you the whole movie. But I haven't seen it so can't tell you more.)
Problems after that.
3pm Reel/Real Life Shorts - starts with Anatomy of an Injury and Fucking Tøs (Damn Girl) both of which are in competition. Second from the end is Reel Life - a ten minute British short that I got to see already. This is like punning in the language of film. It's a lot of fun and raises good questions about film making. Definitely worth seeing. Don't read anything about it. Anything about the movie is a spoiler. Just see it. The director Laurence Relten is scheduled to be at the festival, but for the 3pm showing next Saturday (Dec. 14).
The problem is that 9 Full Moons is at 3:30. This is a feature that I'm told is good plus it has an extra bonus for Anchorage folks - Cindy and Malcolm Roberts' son Bret is the male lead.
A second showing of Mine Games has been added to the schedule, replacing The New World, which had had three showings. After seeing Mine Games and The New World yesterday, I think the original programers got it right. But tonight I need to sleep. If you like eight young adults for a fun weekend in an isolated house in the woods that begins with a car accident, one guy who is repeatedly asked if he's taken his meds, an abandoned mine with dead bodies, young men acting out, consumption of magic mushrooms, plus a gratuitous sex scene, then don't let me stop you from going to Mine Games. It's just not my taste. See my video with Director Richard Gray who will be there Sunday too.
Then to the museum:
6pm - Everything is Fine Here - an Iranian feature and the director is scheduled to be there with a local translator.
The Mexican Shorts at 7:45pm should be very good and they are only showing once. I could end up there. And Harlem Street Singer at 8:15 is one of the docs in competition and should also be dynamite. It at least shows again next Sunday at 1pm.
I'm planning on Hank and Asha at 8 at the Bear Tooth. This is one of the features in competition and the director is scheduled to be there. This promises to be a feel good movie about a couple who meet and date online.
So, no, I'm not going to give you a must see list. You have to make your own choices, but there are lots of good ones.
NOTE 1: Everything except Everything Is Fine Here (6pm at Museum) and Hank and Asha (8pm at Bear Tooth) is at Alaska Experience Theaters.
NOTE 2: The full schedule with times, locations, and links is below the text.
Sunday starts with an easy choice
11am Mountain Climbing docs. It's the only thing on and Grand Rescue is one of the Docs in competition.
1pm is an Alaskan Surfing movie Alaska Sessions: Surfing The Last Frontier. I have a brief video with the director Fred Dickerson here. Fred will, I'm sure, be at the showing. But
1:30pm is Detroit Unleaded, one of the Features in Competition. And one of the film makers is scheduled to be there. About an Arab-American working in a gas station. (Like that tells you the whole movie. But I haven't seen it so can't tell you more.)
Problems after that.
3pm Reel/Real Life Shorts - starts with Anatomy of an Injury and Fucking Tøs (Damn Girl) both of which are in competition. Second from the end is Reel Life - a ten minute British short that I got to see already. This is like punning in the language of film. It's a lot of fun and raises good questions about film making. Definitely worth seeing. Don't read anything about it. Anything about the movie is a spoiler. Just see it. The director Laurence Relten is scheduled to be at the festival, but for the 3pm showing next Saturday (Dec. 14).
The problem is that 9 Full Moons is at 3:30. This is a feature that I'm told is good plus it has an extra bonus for Anchorage folks - Cindy and Malcolm Roberts' son Bret is the male lead.
A second showing of Mine Games has been added to the schedule, replacing The New World, which had had three showings. After seeing Mine Games and The New World yesterday, I think the original programers got it right. But tonight I need to sleep. If you like eight young adults for a fun weekend in an isolated house in the woods that begins with a car accident, one guy who is repeatedly asked if he's taken his meds, an abandoned mine with dead bodies, young men acting out, consumption of magic mushrooms, plus a gratuitous sex scene, then don't let me stop you from going to Mine Games. It's just not my taste. See my video with Director Richard Gray who will be there Sunday too.
Then to the museum:
6pm - Everything is Fine Here - an Iranian feature and the director is scheduled to be there with a local translator.
The Mexican Shorts at 7:45pm should be very good and they are only showing once. I could end up there. And Harlem Street Singer at 8:15 is one of the docs in competition and should also be dynamite. It at least shows again next Sunday at 1pm.
I'm planning on Hank and Asha at 8 at the Bear Tooth. This is one of the features in competition and the director is scheduled to be there. This promises to be a feel good movie about a couple who meet and date online.
So, no, I'm not going to give you a must see list. You have to make your own choices, but there are lots of good ones.
Sunday, December 8th
|
|||||
|
Documentary Program | 96 min.
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||
|
Frederick Dickerson, Matthew McNeill 2012 | Documentary | 87 min.
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Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||
|
Rola Nashef 2012 | Feature | 90 min.
** Note: Filmmaker attending
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Small Theater | ||||
|
Shorts Program | 98 min.
screens with...
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||
|
Tomer Almagor | Feature | 103 min.
** Note: Filmmaker attending
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Small Theater | ||||
|
Richard Gray 2012 | Feature | 96 min.
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||
|
pourya azarbayjani 2012 | Feature | 75 min.
** Note: Filmmaker attending
|
Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center | ||||
|
samit kakkad 2012 | Feature | 94 min.
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Small Theater | ||||
|
Mexican Film Program | 87 min.
screens with...
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||
|
James E. Duff 2012 | Feature | 73 min.
** Note: Filmmaker attending
|
Bear Tooth Theatre | ||||
|
Trevor Laurence, Simeon Hutner 2013 | Documentary | 77 min.
| |||||
Saturday, December 07, 2013
AIFF2013: De Nieuwe Wereld (The New World) Very Satisfying
This was the first feature I saw and it was satisfying on all levels - good story, nice film making, sensitive human relationships.
The highlight for me was when the main character Mirte, a cleaning woman at a Dutch immigration detention center at the airport - not quite in Dutch territory - is cleaning a
glass wall. On the other side, an African detainee that she has found a connection to through their common loss of a spouse, mimics her cleaning motions with his head and body in a beautiful playful dance. [Dec 8: found it on the trailer, added screenshot]
But there were many other parts that were so well done. The slow and painful opening of Mirte, whose son is living with his aunt and uncle and we someone have to figure out that Mirte has recently lost her husband.
There is the inside view of the detention center. Another review called it a "reception centre for asylum seekers," but it looked more prison - even if clean and modern - where people wait for the Dutch to decide if they meet the guidelines for getting asylum. We see the difficult job of questioning the asylum seekers, interactions among the staff, and the pain of sending people back.
But we also see Mirte's struggle to take her son back in and their easing of tension.
And there's her motorbike which probably has some symbolism, but I haven't had time to think that through.
Very satisfying film. It will show again Wednesday 7pm at Alaska Exp Theater.
It turns out it was scheduled three times at the festival - two showings is normal - so Mine Games, which was only scheduled once, will take The New World's spot Sunday, Dec. 9[8], at 5:30pm at Alaska Experience Small Theater.
The highlight for me was when the main character Mirte, a cleaning woman at a Dutch immigration detention center at the airport - not quite in Dutch territory - is cleaning a
 |
| Window Cleaning scene from De Nieuwe Wereld trailer |
But there were many other parts that were so well done. The slow and painful opening of Mirte, whose son is living with his aunt and uncle and we someone have to figure out that Mirte has recently lost her husband.
There is the inside view of the detention center. Another review called it a "reception centre for asylum seekers," but it looked more prison - even if clean and modern - where people wait for the Dutch to decide if they meet the guidelines for getting asylum. We see the difficult job of questioning the asylum seekers, interactions among the staff, and the pain of sending people back.
But we also see Mirte's struggle to take her son back in and their easing of tension.
And there's her motorbike which probably has some symbolism, but I haven't had time to think that through.
Very satisfying film. It will show again Wednesday 7pm at Alaska Exp Theater.
It turns out it was scheduled three times at the festival - two showings is normal - so Mine Games, which was only scheduled once, will take The New World's spot Sunday, Dec.
AIff2013: Animation and Global Shorts and Tweets
 |
| Animation Audience at noon |
 |
| Animation Hotline |
The festival hashtag is
Mine is @Whisper2world.
Animation Hotline was my favorite so far. The visuals were original and abstract and
perfect and basically, it was illustrations of people calling into a hotline. Really well done.
The Rose of Turaida also had great visuals.
Rose and Hotline had lots of beautiful abstract visuals which don't really work when you stop it for these stills.
And Lost and Found . . .
 |
| Lost and Found |
AIFF 2013: Australian Director Richard Gray On Mine Games - Saturday Night 9:45pm
I caught Australian film maker Richard Gray after Icebound Friday night at the very noisy Bear Tooth lobby. Here he gives a brief overview of his film Mine Games which he describes as a psychological thriller. It was filmed in Washington State, in part in lava tubes under Mt. St. Helens. He's got some actors with serious film credits in it: Alex Meraz from the Twilight Sagas, Joseph Cross who was in Lincoln, Flags of Our Fathers, and Running with Scissors, Briana Evigan, and Ethan Peck.
AIFF 2013: What To Do Saturday? Start With Animation At Noon
Below is a list of the Saturday Schedule from the Festival Website.
I'm going to start with Animation at noon. All the animated films in competition are in this program. (Almost all the animation are in this program.) Not as many animated films as previous years, it seems, but I didn't go back and count.
I might stick my head in at the beginning of the environmental docs - the first one, Backyard, is in competition. Then to the shorts program - three are in competition - Jonah, Life, and Separation Sonnet.
Not sure what I'll do next. McConkey should be an interesting film - about an extreme skier who pushed the limits too far eventually - at the Bear Tooth. But Mine Games plays at 9:45pm at the Alaska Experience Theater. I interviewed the film maker last night after Icebound, and I'm inclined to go there. (I'll link to the video as soon as I get it up.)
But I've found that at the festival, things happen, and I end up seeing films I hadn't expected to see. Don't get too hung up on your plan.
√ means it's in competition
* means film maker scheduled to be there
I'm going to start with Animation at noon. All the animated films in competition are in this program. (Almost all the animation are in this program.) Not as many animated films as previous years, it seems, but I didn't go back and count.
I might stick my head in at the beginning of the environmental docs - the first one, Backyard, is in competition. Then to the shorts program - three are in competition - Jonah, Life, and Separation Sonnet.
Not sure what I'll do next. McConkey should be an interesting film - about an extreme skier who pushed the limits too far eventually - at the Bear Tooth. But Mine Games plays at 9:45pm at the Alaska Experience Theater. I interviewed the film maker last night after Icebound, and I'm inclined to go there. (I'll link to the video as soon as I get it up.)
But I've found that at the festival, things happen, and I end up seeing films I hadn't expected to see. Don't get too hung up on your plan.
√ means it's in competition
* means film maker scheduled to be there
Saturday, December 7th
|
|||||||||||
|
Animation Program | 120 min.
screens with...
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||||||||
|
Event | 180 min.
|
Inlet Tower Hotel & Suites | ||||||||||
|
Documentary Program | 94 min.
screens with...
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Small Theater | ||||||||||
|
Shorts Program | 92 min.
screens with...
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||||||||
|
Jaap van Heusden 2013 | Feature | 83 min.
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||||||||
|
Documentary Program | 95 min.
screens with...
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Small Theater | ||||||||||
|
Shorts Program | 112 min.
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||||||||
|
Documentary Program | 85 min.
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Small Theater | ||||||||||
|
Steve Winter, Murray Wais, Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, David Zieff 2013 | Documentary | 109 min.
** Note: Filmmaker attending [I heard that he wouldn't be able to come, but I'm not sure]
|
Bear Tooth Theatre | ||||||||||
|
Alaska Experience Theater - Large Theater | ||||||||||
AIFF 2013: Icebound - Alaska Themed Doc Opens Festival
 |
| Watching Icebound credits |
Icebound was a great film to open the festival. It took on an Alaskan legend - the dog sled run to Nome to bring diphtheria serum to save dying children.
Dan Anker, the film maker, was there and after the film was joined by a number of Alaska Native elders and other Alaskans who helped advise him on aspects of the film and also were in the film.
The audience was made up of Alaskans who knew many of the people in the film. Dan said that he had wanted to first show the film in the villages and towns they visited, but they couldn't get funding for that. But they did get funding to bring many of the villagers into Anchorage. I met a woman before the showing who proudly told me that her grandfather was in the movie.
 |
| Festival Founder Tony Sheppard Introducing Icebound |
There were several movies and themes going at once. There was the story of the diphtheria epidemic in Nome and how the serum got delivered by dog sled relay style in temperatures, at times, below -50˚F (-45˚C).
It told the story of the burgeoning air industry and the Fairbanks editor who wanted to use the serum run to show the superiority of his planes over the dogs. And while the planes never left Fairbanks and the dogs delivered the serum, planes soon were a major force in roadless Alaska.
 |
| Dan Anker with Alaskan Elders at Post Show Q&A |
It told the story of racial segregation and prejudice and speculated why a number of previous epidemics that in some cases wiped out Alaska Native villages were not covered in the national media - in this case a news story argued that Alaska Natives threatened the white population with diseases. Of course, the complete opposite was the case - whites brought diseases to Alaska that the native population had no immunity against. It was suggested that this story caught the national attention because white children were being stricken.
It also told a story about the making of myths and the infallibility of memory and how the press adjust the story to fit their needs.
 |
| Paul Ongtooguk |
Questions about the extent to which Anker adjusted the newspaper images to fit the cinematic needs, brought an adamant reply that every document was real, and the only tampering was to improve the image quality of some of the digital documents they received. Paul Ongtooguk, originally from Nome and now a Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage said that Anker's attention to accuracy at times became annoying, but they came to appreciate it.
 |
| After movie party |
The film got an enthusiastic welcome from the audience. I was fully involved and waiting to see what was going to happen next, even though I and everyone else, knew the basic story. And many people - in the Q&A - expressed surprise at how the film told a story so different from the one they'd learned at school. This could not have been an easy film to make. The recreation of the dog sledding at night in rural Alaskan villages you can only get to by dog sled or air, must have been both expensive and difficult. But Anker started off by saying he'd never been anywhere where the people were more warm and welcoming than Alaska, and you could see the affection his team of Alaskans had for him.
I need some time, and perhaps a second look, to see how much my enjoyment of the film was affected by the home town crowd and seeing people I know fairly well up on the big screen. It shows again Saturday (today) at the Inlet Towers hotel at 1 pm and Dan Anker will be there too.
 |
| Bear Tooth crowd mingling after the film |
Friday, December 06, 2013
AIFF 2013: Travel The World Through Film 2: From India to USA
The film festival gives us a great chance to meet people from around the world, in their own worlds. The previous post went from Afganistan to Germany. Here's the rest of the alphabet.
Below you can see what's offered by film makers from other countries. The links will take you to the Festival Genius page with a description of the page and when and where it will be shown.
√ = film in competition *= film maker scheduled to be there
I don't claim to have gotten every non-US film or gotten all the films in competition or all the film maker talks.
You don't need a passport to travel this week.
India
Delinquent Dancers (feature)
Butterfly Dreams (short narrative fiction)
Iran
Everything Is Fine Here (feature) *film maker coming from Iran
Luxembourg
Mr. Hublot (animated short √) (also France)
Martinique
Maybe Another Time (very short narrative fiction)
Mexico (Sponsored by the Mexican Consul General)
Shorts Program:
Vuelve A La Vida (Back To Life) (Feature)
Mozambique
The Guide (documentary √)
Netherlands
The New World (feature)
New Zealand
Stalled (short narrative fiction) also New Zealand and Switzerland
Antarctica (doc) with Antarctica
Paraguay
7 Cajas (Seven Boxes) (feature)
Russia
Jonah (short narrative fiction √)
http://anchorage.festivalgenius.com/2013/films/film_kirillmodylevskiy_anchorage2013
South Korea
Ahco on the Road (animated short)
Sweden
Coffee Time (short doc)
Switzerland
Collectors (animated super short)
Stalled (short narrative fiction) also New Zealand and Canada
Taiwan
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (feature)
The No Name Painting Association (short doc) (China)
USA
All the rest of the films (except for the oces I''ve missed.
UK
Reel Life (short narrative fiction √) *
Below you can see what's offered by film makers from other countries. The links will take you to the Festival Genius page with a description of the page and when and where it will be shown.
√ = film in competition *= film maker scheduled to be there
I don't claim to have gotten every non-US film or gotten all the films in competition or all the film maker talks.
You don't need a passport to travel this week.
India
Delinquent Dancers (feature)
Butterfly Dreams (short narrative fiction)
Iran
Everything Is Fine Here (feature) *film maker coming from Iran
Luxembourg
Mr. Hublot (animated short √) (also France)
Martinique
Maybe Another Time (very short narrative fiction)
Mexico (Sponsored by the Mexican Consul General)
Shorts Program:
- El Rey de Otra Pelicula
- Enraizado | Steve Granados
- En un Minuto
- La Noria | Karla Castañeda 2012
- La Tiricia | Ángeles Cruz
- Solda
Vuelve A La Vida (Back To Life) (Feature)
Mozambique
The Guide (documentary √)
Netherlands
The New World (feature)
New Zealand
Stalled (short narrative fiction) also New Zealand and Switzerland
Antarctica (doc) with Antarctica
Paraguay
7 Cajas (Seven Boxes) (feature)
Russia
Jonah (short narrative fiction √)
http://anchorage.festivalgenius.com/2013/films/film_kirillmodylevskiy_anchorage2013
South Korea
Ahco on the Road (animated short)
Sweden
Coffee Time (short doc)
Switzerland
Collectors (animated super short)
Stalled (short narrative fiction) also New Zealand and Canada
Taiwan
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (feature)
The No Name Painting Association (short doc) (China)
USA
All the rest of the films (except for the oces I''ve missed.
UK
Reel Life (short narrative fiction √) *
AIFF 2013: Take A Trip Via Film Part 1 - From Afganistan to Germany
Use the festival to take some short trips to other countries.
I've gone through the Festival Genius and sorted by country. It means it was made by someone from that country, it does not necessarily take place in that country, but probably does.
I've linked to the Festival Genius description which also has the times and dates the film will be shown. Shorts are shown in programs with other shorts.
Have a good trip, or two, or three.
Here's the group: A-Ma The rest of the alphabet will be up shortly.
Afghanistan/USA
Fatigued (short doc)
Antarctica
Antarctica: A Year on Ice
Australia
The Rose of Turaida (animated super short)
Alaska Sessions: Surfing The Last Frontier (Doc)
Suspended (short narrative fiction)
Mine Games (feature)
Canada
Yellow Sticky Notes Canadian Anijam (animated short)
Tales of the Organ Trade (doc - I reviewed it here)
“Gaspé Copper” d’Alexis Fortier Gauthier (bandeannonce) (short narrative fiction)
Magnetic Reconnection (short doc)
Stalled (short narrative fiction) also New Zealand and Switzerland
The Animal Project (feature)
Mourning Has Broken (feature)
Pottery Wars (short doc)
Hasard (short narrative fiction) (also Germany)
Santa's Claw (short narrative fiction)
The Trap (super short narrative fiction)
China
The No Name Painting Association (short doc)
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (feature)
Denmark
Life (short narrative fiction √)
Fucking Tøs (Damn Girl) (short narrative fiction √)
(Both are in the same program - Reel/Real Life Shorts)
France
Mr. Hublot (animated short √) (also Luxembourg)
Himalayan Gold Rush (doc √)
Germany
The Fusion (short narrative fiction)
Great (short narrative fiction)
Hasard (short narrative fiction) (also Germany)
I've gone through the Festival Genius and sorted by country. It means it was made by someone from that country, it does not necessarily take place in that country, but probably does.
I've linked to the Festival Genius description which also has the times and dates the film will be shown. Shorts are shown in programs with other shorts.
Have a good trip, or two, or three.
Here's the group: A-Ma The rest of the alphabet will be up shortly.
Afghanistan/USA
Fatigued (short doc)
Antarctica
Antarctica: A Year on Ice
Australia
The Rose of Turaida (animated super short)
Alaska Sessions: Surfing The Last Frontier (Doc)
Suspended (short narrative fiction)
Mine Games (feature)
Canada
Yellow Sticky Notes Canadian Anijam (animated short)
Tales of the Organ Trade (doc - I reviewed it here)
“Gaspé Copper” d’Alexis Fortier Gauthier (bandeannonce) (short narrative fiction)
Magnetic Reconnection (short doc)
Stalled (short narrative fiction) also New Zealand and Switzerland
The Animal Project (feature)
Mourning Has Broken (feature)
Pottery Wars (short doc)
Hasard (short narrative fiction) (also Germany)
Santa's Claw (short narrative fiction)
The Trap (super short narrative fiction)
China
The No Name Painting Association (short doc)
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (feature)
Denmark
Life (short narrative fiction √)
Fucking Tøs (Damn Girl) (short narrative fiction √)
(Both are in the same program - Reel/Real Life Shorts)
France
Mr. Hublot (animated short √) (also Luxembourg)
Himalayan Gold Rush (doc √)
Germany
The Fusion (short narrative fiction)
Great (short narrative fiction)
Hasard (short narrative fiction) (also Germany)
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Thai Demonstrators Pull Back To Honor King on His 86th Birthday
The speech is in Thai, but you can hear how weak the King is as he reads it. It's slow. I'll try to get a translation up when I find one.
New Mandela's analysis of the speech begins:
The King has been the rock of Thailand over his long reign (the longest of any monarch in the world today.) When I was a Peace Corps volunteer I saw him on a few occasions when he celebrated holidays. I particularly remember a plowing ceremony in Bangkok.
Throughout his life he traveled the country and met with farmers and hill tribe members and worked to improve their lives.
You'll notice all the yellow shirts among the people. Yellow is the King's color. Those supporting the current prime minister Yinluck Shinnawat, the sister of ousted prime Shnawat, wear red shirts. This group challenges the future of the monarchy and what happens when the King dies is speculated by all. The Prince who is next in-line has led a pretty wild life and is not terribly respected by many Thais.
But on the King's birthday, Thais on all sides, back off their conflict in respect for the King.
Below is a short excerpt from a video biography of the King focused on his ascension to the thrown in 1946. It includes an interview with the King about his brother's death which led to him becoming King.
Here's last year's speech.
New Mandela's analysis of the speech begins:
"King Bhumibol Adulyadej delivered the much-anticipated speech this morning to mark his 86th birthday anniversary at his seaside residence in Hua Hin. Evidently frail, the King managed to read the script throughout, though at time some parts were lost and inaudible. With his shaky voice, the King emphasised what seems to be a traditional quality of the Thai people: unity. He said (unofficial translation by author
The rest is at the link.Thailand has been a peaceful nation for a long time; this is because of the existence of national solidarity and because members of society have performed their duty in a complementary manner with each other for the interest of the whole nation. Thais ought to recognise this (situation?) and must continue to perform at the best of their intention for the achievement of common interest; that is safety and security of the Thai nation."
The King has been the rock of Thailand over his long reign (the longest of any monarch in the world today.) When I was a Peace Corps volunteer I saw him on a few occasions when he celebrated holidays. I particularly remember a plowing ceremony in Bangkok.
Throughout his life he traveled the country and met with farmers and hill tribe members and worked to improve their lives.
You'll notice all the yellow shirts among the people. Yellow is the King's color. Those supporting the current prime minister Yinluck Shinnawat, the sister of ousted prime Shnawat, wear red shirts. This group challenges the future of the monarchy and what happens when the King dies is speculated by all. The Prince who is next in-line has led a pretty wild life and is not terribly respected by many Thais.
But on the King's birthday, Thais on all sides, back off their conflict in respect for the King.
Below is a short excerpt from a video biography of the King focused on his ascension to the thrown in 1946. It includes an interview with the King about his brother's death which led to him becoming King.
Here's last year's speech.
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