‘9 Temples To Heaven’ review: A poignant family road trip across contemporary Thailand produced by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Dir: Sompot Chidgasornpongse. Thailand. 2026. 140 minutes

When middle-aged businessman Sakol (Surachai Ningsanond) is told a bizarre yet specific prophecy about his mother Saluay Sirikritichai’s (Amara Ramnarong) imminent death, he embarks on a pilgrimage of merit-making in order to ensure her continued health – either that or a harmonious afterlife. Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s fiction feature debut 9 Temples To Heaven is an intimate yet sprawling family drama which serves as both delicate metaphor for political, generational and social diversity in modern Thailand, and an intensely recognisable portrait of simmering intra-family tensions and resentments. 

A delicate metaphor for political, generational and social diversity in modern Thailand

Premiering in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, this blend of documentary filmmaking, architectural travelogue and personal memory, 9 Temples To Heaven makes for a demanding watch, but one that is ultimately rewarding. Chidgasornpongse served as an assistant director for Apichatpong Weerasethakul on Tropical Malady (2004), Cemetery Of Splendour (2014) and Memoria (2021), and Weerasethakul’s pared-back, observational style has clearly been an influence. Weerasethakul comes on board here as producer, and his name and production house credit should put 9 Temples on most major festival radars, and could help attract art house distributor attention. 

9 Temples begins with staff at a Buddhist temple setting up for what is later revealed to be Saluay’s funeral, though she is referred to almost exclusively as ‘Grandma’ throughout. The action then rewinds to a visit to another temple – one of nine that Sakol has commanded three generations of his family to visit in a single day. According to the family’s Theravada Buddhist belief and Thai tradition, nine is a lucky number (its Thai pronunciation resembles the word for “progress”) and making merit – offering gifts, goods and cash to the temples and monks – will ensure blessings and cultivate good karma.

Sakol wants to complete the mission before his mother’s next birthday, which is two weeks away, and so bundles nine family members into a rental van and a second vehicle to carry out his plan. Among the pilgrims are Sakol’s wife Anchalee (Klaichan Phunman), their daughter Prae (Nichmon Shintadapong), his brother Pongpol (Jirawut Chiwaruck), sister Wimol (Yaneenan Jiraphatjittrin), nephews Tor (Sompop Songkampol) and Koon (Poon Sirapob) and Tor’s live-in girlfriend Yam (Yada Karnjanisakorn). The spirit of Songkol’s absent, youngest sister Penkae, looms large.

Once the family hits the road it becomes clear that Grandma has little interest in merit-making, and is restless and irritated by the family’s constant fussing. She doesn’t ask for blessings; she says almost nothing, at least until later in the journey when she shares a story from her past that reframes her life. For the duration of the trip, which often appears on the verge of being cut short, the family grapples with their clashing views on faith and its commodification; karma; financial and political power; duty; and, of course, mortality.

The grandchildren find the idea of blessing old-fashioned, and the monks are often painted as opportunistic; Sakol and Pongpol lament the pace of change and missed real estate opportunities, while Sakol wrestles with doubts over the mysterious prophecy. All of Grandma’s children squabble over whose job it is to care for her, and resent Penkae’s absence. 

At its core, 9 Temples To Heaven is a drama of forgiveness and reckoning with personal faith but, based on Chidgasornpongse’s own experience, the story is also deeply personal. That quality is reflected in the attention to detail and distinction among temple structures and their symbolic significance, even if his language is less actively lyrical and poetic than that of mentor Weerasethakul.

Cinematographer Jonathan Ricquebourg, perhaps best known for his work on Trần Anh Hùng’s luminous 2023 food drama The Taste of Things, keeps the camera steady, with deep focus and long shots allowing the action to unfold within the frame, so revealing the Sirikritichai clan’s various facets, grievances and, ultimately, their unshakeable bond as if the viewer were a tenth family member. Chidgasornpongse effortlessly navigates the border between spaces and motifs singular to Buddhism and modern Thai society; while some specifics may elude international viewers, the concepts of family bonds, acceptance of difference and mortality prove universal.