Srinaonamthum, ruler of the twin towns of Si Satchanalai-Sukhothai, appoints his younger son Khun Bang Klang Hao as his successor, much to the dismay of the elder Phraya Pha Mueang. Alas, the old lord dies while his sons are away on a mission, allowing the devious nobleman Khom Sabad Khon Lampong to capture power. Caught unawares, the two brothers – the belligerent Pha Mueang and the peaceful Bang Klang Hao – must overcome their differences to join hands and reclaim the throne. At the outset, Chartchai Ketnust’s Phra Ruang: Rise of the Empire is an epic retelling of the foundation of ‘the first Thai kingdom’ from the Khmer Empire in the 13th century. But Ketnust frames this mythico-historical narrative as a reinterpretation of a 20th century play by a theatre troupe in modern-day Bangkok. This metatextual layering questions the authority of the canonical account and emphasises the relative nature of representation. Fusing swashbuckling action spectacle, knotty palace intrigues and baroque musical numbers, Phra Ruang augments classical epic filmmaking with an audacious modernist edge.