Plae Kao (Thai: แผลเก่า; RTGS: Phlae Kao; literally Old Wound) is a 1977 Thai romance-drama film directed by Cherd Songsri and starring Sorapong Chatree and Nantana Ngaograjang as two peasants in rural Thailand in a tragic, romantic relationship. The film is also known as simply The Scar.
The film was one of the biggest box-office hits in Thailand at the time.[1] It gained international recognition at the 1981 Nantes Three Continents Festival, where it won the Golden Montgolfiere, sharing it with They Don't Wear Black Tie by Brazilian director Leon Hirszman.[2] It was also voted as one of the world's 360 classic movies by the Museum of the Moving Image in London, Sight & Sound magazine and film directors and critics worldwide in 1998.[1] It was remade in 2002 in Thailand as Kwan-Riam.
Cherd produced the film with the idea of showing it worldwide. The film's poster was designed by Chuang Moolpinit.
"When I produced Plae Kao, I used the slogan 'We must show Thai traditional style to the world'," Cherd told the Thai website Movieseer. "This produced a great deal of negative sentiment towards the picture, because some people believe that this is not a topic to be shown on film. I am a stubborn person though, and once I set my mind to including this in my films, well it's been in every film I have ever made. The press is always asking me when I will make a contemporary film, but now, no one is asking.