Elisheva

Thai subtitles only. It's always better to watch on an official site (VIPA is Thai PBS's streaming service) rather than pirated as it shows interest in this sort of programming. Pirated tells them nothing. Even if you're only here for Max, it really is in your interest to watch legally.
https://www.thaipbs.or.th/program/Pai
https://vipa.me/en/contents/7934/pai

And they hid a second trauma narrative in the grandmother's own story-line. The pieces were there but most of this was told from young Noon's point of view so her ya felt like an annoying, troublesome antagonist - until they unfolded Ya's own. It was brief but so well done - those moments when realities overlapped and she turned her head away from her lifetime of regrets towards Noon's voice - and then the real reason for her actions was revealed. I've seen something like this twice now in series length lakorns, the apparent obstacle who turns out to be a main character in her own right, and wonder if I've missed it in others. (And it makes sense, what with multiple storylines being a feature of full length lakorns.)

That was so clever, and a way to bring in additional depth and understanding with only a small amount of time. Older generations getting it wrong is an on-going theme tucked into the corners of this lakorn - and they all come to realise their mistakes. They don't change their personalities, but they do change their minds. Deft touch there.

So all in all, there's a lot to like.

oh yes yes, the poem has a prominent role in Bussaba Lui Fai (Thai PBS) - Sunthorn Phu is a character. So I finally got around to watching Phra Apai Mani (2002), recognised parts of the story from this.
But this is still a very trippy movie =D =D =D
Will rewatch it this year to see how much more of the story I can follow now, also the Thai. The slowness and clarity of annunciation in some of the dialogue near the beginning seemed like it might be easier to keep up with than others.
I want a third so my 3 Adaptations section can be entirely Phra Apai Mani =D =D =D

For those who care about the maths - Hoon was said to be 22 in 1836, which makes him 16 in the first episodes. What is age anyway? Rak na Thailand <3.
The end is 1867 (or maybe 1868? (13 years after Sunthorn Phu died). Hoon would have been 53.

The end veers away from the arts and into the history of Thailand's renewed contact with western nations and international trade. I think I understand why they did this, tying it into the bigger historical picture. But narratively it came at the cost of both Lamjuan and Hoon's artistry. It was framed as doing it for love - "if I hadn't fallen for you, I would have been" - and that felt like very much the wrong choice, especially for Lamjuan who had fought so hard for her literacy and to make poetry as a woman.

My tag for Slight Romance was rejected. There is a slight romance. There is also something a bit more than slight but still not a Romance.
LGBTQ+ because Pingpong's character is kathoey. And no, this is not BL =D

I added VIU Thailand for services (and didn't add any restrictions because that would be A LOT of countries to click and because VPN). Notice says it was accepted but it's not showing up for me even with VPN set to Thailand. Maybe it's a glitch. Maybe it's MDL thinking it's being helpful.

Anyway, VIU is a treasure trove and easy to VPN to.

Is this available anywhere? JFF Theatre https://en.jff.jpf.go.jp/ will have the follow-up film available for three months from 3 Feb 26.

This page is for the cut version (I don't know what it's like). MDL lists Uncut as rated 18.

Watching Bussaba Lui Fai and Lookwa is so beautiful there. Excellent gentle lakorn too, recommend it highly.

Thank you!!! I should have figured that out =D

I only watch through JFF Online. They change every 3 months & I have no idea where to access them otherwise. https://en.jff.jpf.go.jp/
A repeat of Mottainai Kitchen is their only docu this round, but there are usually more. (Look again early Feb 2026) If you poke around their site, they may still have some shorts on youtube still listed.

My notes on their past & current offerings are here https://kisskh.at/list/LAxXZEY1
For docs, highlights include A Handful of Salt and Sumodo - The Successors of Samurai.

But look again on JFF Online in a couple of weeks, they usually have a few. Usually about food. I'm a bit tired of food docs though =D

Looking forward to subtitles but it was easy enough to vibe this, at least if you know the Mae Nak legend. There's a lot that's probably confusing if you don't, and I don't know how much subtitles will help. The (incomplete) list of related titles will give you an idea of how popular the story is in Thailand - it's assumed the audience knows the story well.

So if you're eager for this one because Krist, seek out Nang Nak in the meantime. It's the clearest telling and you'll get a lot more from Nak Rak Mak.
https://kisskh.at/9897-nang-nak

For all the food, friendship and fluffy framing, that long middle section- about grief and purpose, that was its core. "I'd forgotten how to taste," rich with significance in this context.

No, that's a misperception because so many international fans treat Thailand as if was nothing more than their go-to for cute boys snogging.
The 2024 Thai Watch Challenge was how I found my way out of the BL and GMMTV bubble and I am so glad I did. Just seeking out titles from the actors and actresses in the first section got me watching all sorts of new things.
Thais movies and lakorns have different rhythms and ways of telling their stories than media from other countries - which means letting go of prior expectations and being open to what they're doing. If you're willing to do that, there's a lot of fantastic story-telling from Thailand.

The Curse of Saree and Love in Twilight are available - legally and Eng subbed - via one31's official YT. If you watch there, it shows interest in English subs for lakorns and encourages them to sub more. Watching stolen content on a pirate site doesn't.
I think F4 is free to view via Viki, also legally.
I don't know about the rest.

There are also 5 Ch3 lakorns with Eng subs currently on Viu Thailand and another (The Kinnaree Conspiracy) on Viu Malaysia. If you have a VPN, set it that country and you're good to go.
Royal Doctor is available somewhere, I can find out if you're interested. Again, all of these are legal and showing interest in English-subbed lakorns.

Ch3+ (Channel 3's premium service) has about 10 lakorns with English subs. A year's subscription is around US$28/£22 with shorter options of course.

The narrative function is to get her back in the first house again and in a different frame of mind.
The homestay isn't worse, but it's even further from her expectations.

The part of my brain which wants to make narrative and find Meaning wonders if Sakura-san is a bodhisattva or similar figure offering a path to enlightenment. Maybe she is. and maybe it doesn't matter.

The gentlest of films, the gentlest of comedy, and very effective with creating the sense of calm and quiet contentment it depicts.

The other 'hotel' is a co-operative farm and homestay. From the size, I'd guess that some people live there seasonally or full-time, but they also take in guests and everyone pitches in on growing the food they eat.