After the death of her husband, Prae, a widow with a young child, mourns her loss by wearing nothing but black and seeking solace in the sermon of a local abbot. But Prae’s life takes a dark turn when she meets Tom, a nightclub guard and henchman of the owner. Soon she finds herself entangled in a web of deception and blackmail involving insurance scam and identity theft, with her own survival and that of her child at stake. Black Silk, shot in bright colour and yet stalked by ominous shadow, is a gripping crime drama and regarded a Thailand’s first film noir. Written, directed and shot by R.D. Pestonji, a pioneer of Thai cinema in the 1950s, the film blends the element of crime film with Buddhist philosophy and creates a unique cinematic reality.
The film was selected to be in the competition at Berlin International Film Festival in 1961. The restoration has been completed in 2020 by Thai Film Archive.
