Trailer
Plot summary
Richard, an American backpacker in Bangkok, meets a French couple, Françoise and Étienne, at a hotel on Khao San Road, and becomes attracted to Françoise. A Scottish traveler named Daffy tells him of a hidden beach on a pristine island in the Gulf of Thailand, where he says he lived secretly for years before leaving. Daffy dies by suicide and leaves Richard a map. Richard persuades Françoise and Étienne to go. In Ko Samui he meets two Americans, Zeph and Sammie, and gives them a copy of the map. On the island the three come upon a cannabis plantation patrolled by armed farmers, jump a waterfall and meet Keaty, who leads them to a secret community headed by Sal. She says the farmers allow them to stay only if no other travelers arrive.
Cast
- Daniel Yorkas Hustler
Show all 20 cast
- Somboon Phutarothas Cleaning Woman
- Patcharawan Patarakijjanonas Hotel Receptionist
- Weeratham 'Norman' Wichairaksakuias Detective
- Krongthong Thampradithas Woman with Key
- Apichart Chusakulas Senior Farmer (as Abhijati 'Muek' Jusakul)
- Jak Boonas Travel Agent
- Sanya 'Gai' Cheunjitas Farmer
- Kaneung 'Nueng' Keniaas Farmer
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Beach (2000)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Controversy arose during the making of the film because of 20th Century Fox's bulldozing and landscaping of the natural beach setting of Ko Phi Phi Le to make it more "paradise-like".
- The large increase in tourist traffic to the beach as a result of the film caused environmental damage to the bay and the nearby coral reefs, prompting Thai authorities to close the beach in 2018.
- Ewan McGregor, a frequent collaborator of Boyle's and Macdonald's, believed he would be cast in the lead role but was ultimately not chosen, and the decision contributed to a rift between McGregor and Boyle.
- Leftfield's contribution to the soundtrack, "Snakeblood", was found to have sampled Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "Almost" without permission, leading to a lawsuit; band member Neil Barnes said he forgot to remove the sample from the finished track.
- Liam Howlett of the Prodigy asked writer Alex Garland if he could write the track for the movie with Robert Del Naja; the result, "No Souvenirs", was not used in the film and was discarded around 2003.
- Journalists were not allowed to take pictures on set, so the only press picture of Guillaume Canet and Virginie Ledoyen before shooting was their departure at Paris Aéroport with de Fougerolles; the Studio magazine cover led the international press to report her as cast, yet her lines were edited out and survive only in the DVD extras.
