The Beach

 The Beach 

“My name is Richard. So what else do you need to know?” 

This is the opening line of “The Beach”, uttered by Leonardo Di Caprio. His narration drives the events of the film forward, adapting the first person narrative style of the book this movie is based on, written by Alex Garland.  But before I get onto my review for The Beach, let me tell you the story of my trip to Thailand in 2002. 

For the better part of 2002, I was 19 and working as a hospitality trainee at a local RSL club. Pouring beers, wiping tables, fixing pokie machines and pretending to listen to the same stories of the old patrons who frequented the place. I didn’t know what I was doing with myself for the first couple of years outside of high school, so in order to just do something, I took up the traineeship. It was full time, working 5 days a week, and a mix of day and night shifts. It wasn’t all bad, as I liked being busy, but the job and the place itself wasn’t terribly exciting. I had the long view however, and told myself that some solid experience working in a bar would serve me well when I eventually went travelling. When that would happen, I didn’t know. Until an offer came up out of the blue. 

While working at the RSL, I was pulled into a promotional photo shoot of the club. A year later, that picture ended up on a coaster. Just to prove I worked there...

My older sister Kate was an avid traveller, and worked for the travel agency Flight Centre. She had planned a trip to Thailand and was going to meet up with some friends. Someone who was meant to go with her couldn’t, but the flight and accommodation had been paid for. My generous sister offered me the spot, and all I would need was some spending money. Being Thailand, the Aussie dollar went far when it came to the Baht, the currency of Thailand. Being on trainee wages, I didn’t have much cash, but was able to save a few hundred dollars. Enough money to last the 2 weeks away. I put in my leave request with work, and being Thailand, my traineeship supervisor game me some good advice before I left “Now listen mate” he said, “if it’s not on, it ain’t on”. I knew what he meant but played dumb. “What do you mean by that Peter?” and he just laughed at me. 

Around this time in 2002, I was getting into video production, taking it from high school hobby to desired career path. I had done some odd volunteering jobs with Channel 31, a community based TV station run out of Melbourne. One of its programs, “Pathways”, which interviewed people involved in healing and personal development, had a producer who also ran a networking group I was a part of. It was called STV (Southern Television) and he helped us learn about the aspects of video production, and network with others in the group. He also had a video camera I could borrow, and I suggested I would film my trip and make a documentary out of it for Channel 31. “Destination Thailand” I would call it, and after setting up some travel insurance, I took the camera, borrowed a tripod from a friend, and went off to Thailand with my sister.

I filmed almost every moment; leaving from Melbourne airport, looking out the plane window as we landed, the ride in the Tuk Tuk from the airport to the hotel, and so forth. I kept up the filming job for the most part, but the documentary never eventuated. I still have the video footage at home on Mini-DV cassette, and have watched it a few times since. I don’t know if I’ll ever edit the footage, and if not, that’s okay. The memory of my trip to Thailand is still firmly fixed on my mind, even fifteen years later. I turned 20 just before going on that trip, and it was also about a week after the 2002 Bali Bombings, and Thailand had been put on alert. Thankfully, nothing happened while we there. Once I returned from the beautiful locations of Phuket, and Coral Island and the bustling, businesses of Bangkok, I just wanted to relive my trip there. The best I could do would be to watch “The Beach”.

The Beach dives straight into proceedings, with young jetsetter Richard arriving in Bangkok. Standing out as a tourist at first, he has no intention to be seen as a vacationer. He continues his narration as he explores a foreign land and connects with the audience in a natural way. There are many great lines in the film, which include these pearlers; 

“Never refuse an invitation. Never resist the unfamiliar”

“Keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if you get hurt, it’s probably worth it”

 “And as for travelling alone? Fuck it! If that’s the way it has to be, then that’s the way it is"

Not long into his stay, Richard crosses paths with a foul mouthed Scottish man called Daffy, who tells him a tale, over a joint. He shares his experience of The Beach. Hidden on an island he sums up as “Perfection”, the fellow traveller invites Richard to go find it for himself… if he dares. The pot smoking stranger is certainly unhinged, as a result of his time on the beach, so this gets the fresh faced American backpacker curious to say the least. 

His curiosity only strengthens the next morning when Richard discovers a gift has been left on his hostel room door; a makeshift map with directions to The Beach. But where is the man who gave it to him? All that’s left of his room is some blood stains. What happened to this man, but more so, what happened to him on The Beach? Richard has to find out, by finding that place, whatever it takes. 

Joining the French couple in the room next to his, Richard’s solo trip becomes a Trio, as they head half way across Thailand to discover the beach. As carefree as Richard is, finding himself falling for the girl, named Francoise, who’s going with the other guy, Etienne, she doesn’t mess around. She’s loyal to her boyfriend, but just as reckless as Richard. At one point, she and her boyfriend pretend a shark has gotten her as they swim over to the island. Richard doesn’t like the joke, and it’s his genuine fear that show’s how vulnerable he is in the whole situation.

Once they arrive on the island, the beach doesn’t greet them straight away. Rather, it’s an endless field of marijuana. Thinking they’ve hit the Junkie Jackpot, Richard and co quickly realise there are other inhabitants of this island, armed with machine guns and monkey security guards. No joke. Quietly avoiding capture, the trio move on, to find the white sands and crystal blue waters.

The legend of the beach has been kept quiet, but there are just enough people already there to call the place home. A secret society of sorts who have set up a village, organised a way of life, and cut themselves off from society all together. Suspicious of the new guests at first, they come to welcome them into their private world, with cautions arms.

Richard is soon accepted as one of the family on the island. With all the time in the world, they keep themselves busy, and the temptation of the beach quickly sinks in. But paradise found, will eventually be paradise lost and as the grip on reality slips away when one enters paradise, reality creeps back in. It’s then that the paradise-addicted brain will struggle to readapt. 

The story of the film is a collection of stories, as the characters live one experience after another, perfectly capturing the theme of travelling. Living in the moment, relishing in every second with your senses, and recounting the story to your co-travellers, or complete strangers you just met that day. Gathered around a campfire on a beach, hunched over a dimly lit bar with a pint, or squashed into a hostel common room; travelling is about moments, and this film has many. 

Any film directed by Danny Boyle is a transcending experience. He reels you in right from the beginning, taking what’s familiar and exploring it with fresh eyes, backed by an alternative soundtrack of songs you might not have heard, and will never unhear once it’s played to your ears. The soundtrack to this film is spot on, highlighted by “Porcelain”, performed by Moby. Watch this clip to see what I mean when a song is used to perfection in a movie... 

The Beach was released in 2000. I went to Thailand in 2002. One of the biggest tourist spots of the country was the Phi Phi Island chain, in the heart of the Andaman sea. We went. And our boat took us right into Phi Phi Beach, the setting for this movie. And it was nothing short of spectacular. You feel like you’re entering another world, as towering cliffs close in an aqua pool, where you can see right to the bottom of the sea floor, white and smooth. Schools of fish danced around the boat, and as the gentle sound of water splashing against the boat and the warm air envelops you, paradise is yours. 

 The boat stops just metres from the beach, where you jump out and swim in the clearest, coolest water you’ve ever felt touch your body. Then you crawl out of the water, and onto the warm, dry sand, which is as fine as powder, and stare out at a sight surely sculpted by God himself. I saw it in the flesh first, then watched this film after my trip to Thailand. And watching this scene takes me straight back there. 

This movie has a lot to say; about the world, about travelling, the people you meet and the person you ultimately become as a result. For any person well-travelled is bound to change, for better or worse, but changed none the less. And however far you choose to travel, and how deep you go into the lesser travelled parts of your mind, life continues to do what it does best – surprise you. So, we can respond to that which we can’t control by continuing to travel, and some people never stop. I’ll admit, on my longer trips abroad, there were times I considered never coming home. The mystery of the unknown always seemed more exciting than the predicitbaility of routine. But when does ever-extending travel stop becoming travel, and then just become normal? The Beach confronts this question head on, and doesn’t give any easy answers. 

And then the travelling ends, and as you come home, with itchy feet but the memories to last a lifetime, you never really get back to normal. Because normal is the lie. The truth is in the travel; the places you go, the things you see and the path you leave behind.

After seeing a different part of the world in Thailand at age 20, I came back, saw out the remaining months of my traineeship, and looked forward to the next travelling adventure. That would come in October 2003, but before we get there, I’ve got a few more stories to share, and a review of the movies that go with those stories. 

Check out the trailer here...

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