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The low-budget, high-earning 1978 drama "Kru Bannok" ("The Rural Teacher") returns to the screens on January 14 as a remake - by the same director, Surasee Phatham.

Surasee's original earned Bt8 million-plus at the box office, an impressive figure at the time, particularly when action and romance were dominating Thai cinema.

Sahamongkol Film International executive Somsak "Sia Jiang" Ratanaprasert expects that the tale of a teacher assigned to a remote village will again win viewers' hearts - and this time all around the world.

"Thai action films are now being exported, and I want to show foreigners the Thai way of life in the good old days," he says.

The basic story remains the same: The teacher struggles to improve his pupils' education so they'll have better lives, but in doing so earns the wrath of local influential people.

In the original, Piya Trakoonraj played Kru Piya, just beginning his teaching career in tiny Nong Ma Wor. In the new version, Pichet Kongkarn portrays Kru Pichet and the village is now Nong He Yai.

The original made a star of mor lam performer Noppadon Duangporn, who played the school's headmaster. The remake gives the role to comic actor and director Petchtai "Mum Jokmok" Wongkumlao, and Panna Rittikrai also stars as a teacher isolated from society.

"Kru Bannok" earned respect as a realistic portrayal of the challenges facing teachers in remote schools.

And the protagonist was admired as the ideal model for Thai teachers, which prompted teachers and students all over the country to see the film.

The remake's release on January 14 comes two days before National Teachers Day.