Before they directed King Kong, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack would create Chang, a “documentary” about the Laos people in Siam. It tells a story of man’s fight against the jungle, and how they were able to tame the elephant herd. This is a little known film nowadays, but it is an important movie in the history of filmmaking.

We were staying in Luang Prabang when we came across a place that was advertising free viewings of Chang, the first movie ever to made about Laos. We decided we would come one night to see it. It turns out a few hotels in the area do this, both as a way to get potential customers and to spread a bit more about Laos culture and history.

It was technically made in Siam, but I believe the area in which it was filmed is modern day Laos, and the actors in the film are also Laos. I’m not very knowledgeable about the history, apart from how it relates to the Vietnam war so don’t take my word on this.

The version of the film we watched had a backing track created in 2014 by a Laos orchestra. It really adds to the feel of the film: each animal gets it’s own musical sound. The monkey is a high pitched xylophone that almost matches it’s movements. Elephants are loud booming drums. The track also adds some dialogue in Laos. It’s a silent movie so the dialogue isn’t needed to understand the film, but it does add a lot to the atmosphere, pulling you into the jungle with the Laos people.

The film itself focuses on Kru, a member of the Laos village that has boldly moved deeper into the forest. The film shows how he protects his goat herd, tries to grow crops, and raise his family. After too many attacks by leopards, he returns to the village and asks for help.

The villagers set out together, constructing many pit traps, snares, spike traps. They then beat the jungle floor to scare off any other wild animals. A battle with the leopards ensues, some of them falling into traps and getting shot. Eventually a tiger shows up, and they are forced to kill it to save a hunter who has no more ammo.

After this, Kru returns to find a Chang, the Thai word for an elephant, has trampled his farm. He sets up a trap and catches the young elephant, tying it to his house with a rope. The mother elephant shows up, and destroys Kru’s home in a rage. His family, and their pet monkey, barely make their escape.

Kru returns to the village and tells them that the Great Herd has returned. They laugh him off, but soon after are attacked by a herd of elephants. In the greatest scene of the movie, the elephants trample the entire village to the ground.

The villages then construct a krall, an elephant trap. They lure the Great Herd into the trap and keep them at bay with spears. After the cage door falls, the entire herd is trapped inside. The film then explains this is how man was able to tame the elephants, and use them to continue fighting the jungle.

But it leaves us with a message: that the jungle will always fight back, and man needs to be persistent in their struggle against the wild.

Chang is definitely an entertaining movie that has a strong narrative throughout. Even for a silent film there are a lot of cards to read, but it still keeps you gripped with its story. “Story” is the key word here. It is described as a documentary, but it’s as real as modern day reality TV. There are elements of truth in the film, but it was clearly developed with a script in mind.

The special effects are great for its time. The traps are well built and you can clearly see how they are supposed to work. The film’s most famous scene, the elephants trampling the village, was achieved by using baby elephants and a miniature village.

Of course, the chang in the room is that this film couldn’t be made in the same way today. There are clearly acts of animal cruelty involved, and many animals are slain on camera. This might be acceptable if this was a fly on the wall documentary, but the directors would often ask the locals to repeat specific scenes and manipulate animals to fit their narrative. The elephant calf being tied to a home and abused is perhaps the most difficult to watch for modern audiences. Especially when you know they did it specifically to get the mother angry.

Watching as a historical document, you can get not only a glimpse of what life was like in Siam in the 1920s, but also a glimpse of how Westerners viewed them at the time. The filmmakers would later go on to create King Kong, their recklessness and enthusiasm during the making of Chang inspiring the character of Carl Denham.