"The Beach" The paradise that Danny Boyle and his friends aimed for, and its collapse

Tampering with nature is a big problem

Another story that has been told is that the beach used for the filming was altered. Environmental groups protested furiously, claiming that the removal of palm trees and vegetation, and the cutting and alteration of sand dunes had caused irreparable damage to the pristine natural environment. This resulted in lawsuits and investigations, and the issue has continued to have a lasting impact even after the film's production and release had ended. (*2) (*3)

Just looking at this one incident, there is something strange about this film, like a mummy hunter becoming a mummy himself. As mentioned above, "The Beach" was originally intended to criticize the backpackers from overseas who come to Southeast Asia in search of various mystical experiences and paradises, and then nonchalantly commit acts that would never be tolerated in their own countries.

"The Beach" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

The production team must have been painfully aware of the moral lessons this film is trying to teach, but once they started filming, they changed the shape of the beach for the film, even though they had permission from the Thai authorities. Now, no one can laugh at the monkey (Tilda Swinton) who tried to monopolize the paradise and build an exclusive utopia on this land.

However, humans are creatures who learn a lot from their mistakes. It is said that when director Danny Boyle made his later film " Slumdog Millionaire " (2008), he traveled to India with the smallest possible number of people and hired many of the cast and staff locally (*2). Compared to "The Beach," where he traveled with about half the staff (about 200 people), Boyle's attitude and philosophy towards filmmaking have made great strides.

More than 20 years have passed since the movie, and now the paradise is...