Away from the country's headline monuments, Thailand's religious life is carried by hundreds of neighbourhood monasteries whose rhythms have changed little. Wat Prasat is filmed in that spirit. The camera keeps its distance and lets the compound reveal itself: the tiered roofs and gilded finials that form the common vocabulary of Thai monastic building, the shaded courtyards between halls, the shrine tables crowded with flowers, candles and small offerings left by people passing through on their way to work. Inside, gold leaf catches the light on the principal Buddha image; outside, the heat settles and the compound empties. The programme is structured around a single arc of daylight, from the early collection of alms to the low chanting that closes the day, and finds its interest in texture and duration rather than in commentary. For programmers, it offers a contemplative, largely wordless portrait of Buddhist practice as it is actually lived, easily scheduled alongside travel, culture or slow-television strands.
