9 Temples to Heaven

A family of nine hauls their 83-year-old grandmother across Thailand in a single day, temple to temple, armed with prayers and the desperate hope that enough merit-making can buy her more time. It's a 2026 drama-comedy written and directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse — his debut feature — and it doesn't behave the way you'd expect a family road movie to behave. There's no wacky detour. No tidy resolution waiting at the end. Just nine people in a car, arguing about faith and duty and parking, while something larger and quieter works underneath.

Runtime: 140 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Premiered at Cannes 2026 (Directors' Fortnight).

The Setup: Why They're Doing This

A fortune teller tells the middle-aged son his mother may not have long to live. His response isn't really grief — it's logistics. He maps out a circuit of nine temples and ropes in his siblings, cousins, whoever he can fit in the vehicle. The logic is sound, in a way: if you believe in merit-making, in the power of collective prayer, then doing this should tip the cosmic scales. The family doesn't entirely believe in it. But they show up anyway.

This is where the film finds its real tension. It's not about whether the temples will work. It's about what happens when you cram a multigenerational family into close quarters for twelve hours and ask them to sit with their own doubts about the rituals they're performing — and about the woman they might lose.

The trip, predictably, takes an unexpected turn. What that turn reveals about each character is the film's actual subject.

Why This Matters: Apichatpong's Fingerprints Are All Over It

Sompot Chidgasornpongse spent years working as a close collaborator with Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who serves as a producer on this film alongside Kissada Kamyoung. You can feel that lineage — a certain patience with silence, with images that breathe — but 9 Temples to Heaven doesn't feel derivative. It's warmer. More comedic. More rooted in recognizable family friction than anything Apichatpong's made.

The production itself is a sprawl: Thailand, Singapore, France, Norway, China, Hong Kong, and Indonesia all have money in it. Companies like Kick the Machine Films, petit chaos, E&W Films, At A Time Pictures, and Needle in the Haystack co-produced. That kind of financing usually screams prestige project, but honestly, what strikes me is how unshowy the film stays. No grandstanding. Just naturalistic performances from actors — Amara Ramnarong, Surachai Ningsanond, Jirawut Chiwaruck, Yaneenan Jiraphatjittrin, and Klaichan Phunman — who aren't household names outside Thailand, which turns out to be a feature rather than a bug. They feel unperformed.

Cinematographer Jonathan Ricquebourg shoots real temples, including Wat Bang Phli Yai Klang, home to one of Thailand's largest reclining Buddha statues. The light inside those spaces doesn't feel borrowed from postcards. There's something genuinely devotional about how he frames them — without the aesthetic tourism that sinks so many international co-productions.

How It Actually Works: Comedy + Grief, No Separation

The family bickers about parking. About who gets the front seat. About whether Grandma actually wants this or is just too polite to say no. And underneath it all runs a current of real dread — the kind you can't quite name while it's happening.

What's striking is how Chidgasornpongse refuses to separate the comedy from the mortality. They exist in the same frame, in the same moment. There's a scene around the midpoint — the family scattered across a temple courtyard, each member doing their own version of praying — that lands harder than almost any single dramatic moment. No score swells. No close-up of tears. Just nine people doing their best in a place that may or may not be listening.

Generational attitudes toward Buddhism become both joke and genuine conflict. Younger family members visibly uncertain about the rituals. Older ones quietly furious about that uncertainty. Hard to say if the film fully resolves that tension — but I kept thinking that's exactly the point. Some things don't resolve in a single day. Some things don't resolve at all.

The 140-minute runtime could've felt indulgent in another director's hands. Here it feels necessary. That's how long it takes for the accumulation of small moments — the bickering, the silent prayers, the glances across car windows — to become something that matters.

Where to Watch It Right Now

The film is available on major OTT services. For the exact breakdown of which platforms carry it in your region — and whether your subscription covers it — check Movie OTT's where-to-watch tracker, which updates in real time as availability shifts. International festival titles like this one scatter across different platforms depending on region and rights holder, so checking there first beats hunting it down yourself.

The world premiere was at the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival in May. It subsequently screened at the 2026 Sydney Film Festival. That Cannes selection signals serious artistic ambition without the pressure-cooker prestige of main competition — it's where filmmakers with something to say tend to land.

Who Should Actually Watch This

You should watch 9 Temples to Heaven if you've ever sat in a car with your entire family and felt, simultaneously, annoyed and grateful and terrified of losing them. You don't need to know anything about Thai Buddhism (though it helps). You don't need to be a fan of slow-burn cinema (though again, it helps). What you need is patience for a film that earns every one of those 140 minutes.

If you liked the ensemble dynamics of something like Minari or the deadpan family comedy of recent Wong Kar-wai work, this'll connect with you — though it's doing something distinctly its own. Movie OTT has been tracking its festival run and streaming rollout, which is useful since the film's only now making its way to international audiences outside the festival circuit.

Sompot Chidgasornpongse's debut announces a filmmaker worth following. Don't sleep on this one.

FAQ

Q: Who directed 9 Temples to Heaven?

Sompot Chidgasornpongse wrote and directed it — his narrative feature debut. He's a longtime collaborator of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who serves as a producer.

Q: Is this based on a true story?

No, it's original fiction. That said, merit-making temple pilgrimages are a real, widely observed tradition in Thai Buddhist culture. The film draws on that cultural reality in specific, grounded ways.

Q: How long is it?

140 minutes. Longer than most dramas dare to go, but the pacing is deliberate — it uses the runtime to let family dynamics develop naturally over the course of a single day.

Q: Where did it premiere?

The world premiere was in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival in May 2026.

Q: Where can I watch it?

Major OTT platforms currently carry it. For your region's specific availability, check Movie OTT's where-to-watch widget, which tracks streaming access in real time across services.