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Goofy charm
Second time through and I found the love story which develops especially touching. Which was probably half being distracted by the fun surprises and humour the first time through and half starting it far too late (only meant to peek in, really, and how is it past midnight already =)). It's gone up in my estimation now. It's light, sweet and silly, and moving. The ghosts aren't scary, the cameos are entertaining (Pompam's expression), and it does that lovely thing of a two hour Thai movie where it takes its time to explore its world before revealing its layers, with a story grounded in emotion more than driven by events.It was perfect for a day when I needed a break from both reality and fictional drama, like a wee holiday.
This is very much one to watch without western expectations and just let it take you along as it reveals its world.
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This review may contain spoilers
Slice of life across times
The "spoilers" in this review are more along the lines of themes than specifics. The synopsis is bare bones and confusing enough I thought it might be useful to add a bit more. I gave it the tag just to be careful.The first segment is perhaps both the most poetic and also the closest to a conventional narrative. Its three characters are well balanced - it's not "about" any one of them but about each and the interwoven situations they're in, with social pressures on someone who is both blind and lesbian, along with sisters who only have each other, and what happens when one of them has someone else as well. I loved the delicate French chanson in Mandarin feel of the music too. (If it's in another language, please let me know and I'll correct this.)
The second segment, about a different sort of love, asks for empathy and maturity from its viewers, and the third circles round to show us Diego (from the 1st) and Lily (from the 2nd) when they were younger. The 3rd brings in family sexism and pressure to be a girl in socially accepted ways.
Some might say I'm reading things into it, but the feel and format are such that it's the kind of film which invites a viewer to make other connections as well, like valuing your own life and yourself for who you are.
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National treasure of a tragic love story
The (incomplete) list of related titles will give you an idea of how popular the legend of Mae Nak, which has its roots in the 1800s, is amongst Thais. This version - the 1999 film with Inthira Charoenpura and Winai Kraibutr - has the clearest explanation of the story I've seen. If you're only going to watch one, this is the one to choose. If you're inclined to watch more, it's the best to begin with. Even one which stands alone as well as Pee Mak has additional layers if you know Nang Nak. For other subsequent adaptations, it really does help to have this as reference so you understand how each one finds its own way to move our emotions.And as a film, it's well done. Moody, atmospheric, but also balanced with light and warmth. Some excellent cinematography (like the way the film-maker used light, shadow and Kraibutr's musculature), just enough horror, and of course the love story at its heart. If you don't know the story, just watch it and get caught up in the suspense.
I've seen this four times now. When I began seeking out all the Nang Nak/Mae Naks as I could find, it was out of interest in the different ways film-makers find to tell stories. What I've come away with, six different movies in, is how much love Thais have for the story, and this version in particular. Is it perfect? No. But that's not what matters. It's Nang Nak.
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Simple, calm, lovely
There isn't much story to this. A young woman who's been working in Bangkok returns to her mother's house in the (I think) lower northern/central plains. Two friends come to visit her and they all learn to appreciate the forest. A bit of local/regional history is sprinkled in too. It's about a simpler, calmer way of life.It's a pleasant way to spend 50 minutes with peaceful scenery, kind people and low stakes earnestness. I really liked FL Tangtang in From Chao Phraya to Irawadee and it was good to see her again in this.
To say more would spoil some things. I do recommend this, especially if you like the Thai PBS way with their short specials.
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Romanticising abusive behaviours
As a lakorn, this was alright. Not great, and they got lazy with several things like the gay and lesbian side stories and a late ungrounded reveal about the ML. And just no on using ridiculous straight boy fears of gay men hitting on them as a recurring punch line.The problem, which many won't care about because it's all so normalised, is the type of rom com they crashed into it. The kind where abusive behaviours in the ML are magically transformed into happily ever after by the FL's enduring love.
Most viewers will just see this as adding drama and excitement, making his transformation all the more neuro-chemically rewarding for them. Many will dismiss it as "just fiction" or cite the mantra that they know the difference between it and reality, as if everything bouncing around in our brains stayed neatly in its assigned box. Our subconscious minds don't really work that way. Stories are powerful and we are narrative beings.
So when writers and directors make stories which parallel the kinds of things women (and sometimes men) in abusive relationships tell themselves - he'll change, he's doing this because he loves me, it will get better if ... - which keep them locked in the relationship, turning them into romanticised tropes, these stories cumulatively reinforce and normalise them. It's already hard enough to break free from an abusive relationship as it is. If you don't understand this, count your blessings.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The writers here had to have known what they were doing too, what with the density of controlling, manipulative and coercive behaviours they piled onto the ML (restricting her movements, contact with friends and internet, stalking her - getting into her house, love bombing her when she's finally gotten free as just a few of the egregious red flags) and the overtly, impossible to miss abuse from Phondech to Yada. How close they walked to rape before backing it away. He still forced alcohol on her to get her drunk, after she resisted in both actions and words, because he saw it as a way to get something he wanted.
There were times I wondered if they were subverting these tropes, which is what kept me watching longer than I should have (the irony of that, maybe they'll change, eh?), especially with the gender inversions they brought in or Yada's struggle to get free from both her husband and father and live for herself. But in the end, they whole-heartedly embraced the dangerously false narrative of an abusive man changing because a woman loves him. He still has his temper though, and centred his own emotions when the woman he "loves" was trying to get her head around her life-threatening health condition, the one he chose to hide from her. Consistency in character from the writing there, but also an indication that his "change" is self-serving. But it's a happy ending because rom com.
Stories don't need this to be compelling or entertaining. They could have made something different with Mew Nittha still sparkling as delulu sunshine. Let Mark Prin start as withdrawn and grumpy if you must, but give his character a real reason for it, not one he then turns on the FL in a late episode. Crash a rom com into a lakorn and use lakorn exaggeration to really examine and challenge toxic tropes.
There is so much more they could have done, maybe seemed to be heading in the direction towards doing, and this would have been better for it. Mew's comedic talents especially deserved more.
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This review may contain spoilers
A tale of two halves
There aren't specific spoilers in this but it does talk about the entire lakorn in broad strokes. If you haven't started it or are in the early stages, keep watching and come back to this later if you want.If you've gotten stuck half way through and are trying to make sense of your reactions, this should be safe enough to read. It was well worth finishing and a couple of days off before continuing helped. I ended up loving both halves for very different reasons.
The first eight episodes are my favourite of the Channel 3 lakorns I've seen. Full of tropes but underpinned by strong statements on sexism, prejudice (Chinese against Thai, Thai against Chinese), privilege and how these affect people's lives. Excellent pacing between the happy friends and tense families. The what is age anyway casting was a bit odd, but I'm used to that and Baifern especially has the playfulness to make it work. And Nine's Tian is so kind and caring you'd forgive everything, not that there's all that much to forgive.
One of the things I've learned from watching lakorns is that the most far-fetched plot will still work if there's internal consistency around key elements and if the core emotions ring true. Getting the "why they can't be together yet" right is crucial to this.
They didn't do this in the rather abrupt shift between the halves. There was some attempt to build in internal consistency leading up to it and a wee bit after, but the emotional truth was compromised. The earlier balance was also lost and the story became mired in stress and tension for a few episodes.
The second half though is more ambitious in scope and because of that at times more awkward. It is also deeper and richer. Looking back, I can see how the first half magnifies the emotions of the second and is necessary to the overall story. I have mixed feelings about the abruptness of the shift - if they had written in greater internal emotional consistency in the first half, the experience would have been different. Not necessarily less, but different. I'm not sure I want to give up those first eight episodes as they are. So I've come round to accepting the abrupt shift while still being critical of it.
In the end, through all its movements - young love, discrimination and prejudice, the damage wealth and privilege brought to a family, it's ultimately about the dignity and strength of women.
If you're not sure about continuing, in my opinion it's certainly worth the time.
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One for the collectors
This is in the vein of the 1959 Mae Nak Phra Khanong, with the first half of focusing on their life together before Mak leaves for war. It's light, almost frivolous and overtly romantic.The latter half was clearly and understandably made for an audience who knows the story already and skims plot detail to centre its attention on the emotions. This made for some of the most emotionally effective scenes I've seen in a Mae/Nang Nak so far. I'll likely watch it again for that but may skip through some of the first half.
I didn't make proper review notes when I saw it (it wasn't in the database then) but my recollection is that the horror element was fairly minimal and brief but not absent. MDL's very broad use of "horror" as a genre doesn't work well with Thai movies and how they approach some of their ghost stories.
If you don't know the Mae/Nang Nak legend though, the best to start with is the 1999 Nang Nak.
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This review may contain spoilers
Props or people?
Others have explained the problems with this follow-up so I'm just sharing some ideas from a conversation with a friend about whether the director Golf sees characters as props or people. It was a useful question and came about because of two other series from Golf.I didn't mind that the Our Skyy was primarily about Wat and the film competition. I would have been happy for two episodes of Ayan and Akk just living their best together life. Or maybe a bit of them figuring out their relationship and themselves post-high school. Something like Khan and Thua got. Why were the 2nd couple given something like plausible consistency with their main series characters and better writing than not-Akk and not-Ayan? Maybe they were just generic enough it was the easiest route?
Given the complete and utter lack of understanding of the main characters though plus the focus on the film maker plus the length of the director's cameo, I do wonder if this wasn't more about Golf than the characters. Maybe it's unfair but it's the only explanation I have for the result. Or maybe it's too generous and the explanation is more a lack of competence. First and Khaotung carried the main series through the emotional depth of their acting after all.
Meanwhile in this it's like First didn't bother with characterisation and just played it as a version of himself. Khaotung couldn't save not-Ayan from a plot which stripped the character of his emotional intelligence. I guess if all you're here for is actors snogging that will do you. But why not fanservice which respects the characters as well? It wouldn't be difficult to keep both types of fans happy.
In short, Khaotung and First made Ayan and Akk people and that's why The Eclipse works despite many moments of questionable writing and plot. Golf made Akk and Ayan into props and that's why the Our Skyy 2 is a self-serving disaster.
Ayan would NEVER do that to Akk. Any director or screenwriter who thinks he would failed to understand the character or how it would destroy Akk.
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Creativity, ingenuity and determination
Inspired by the then newly released Star Wars, a high school student is determined to make a film of his own and is focused solely on the special effects. Along the way, he and his friends use a lot of ingenuity and a bit of advice from their history teacher and a university film student to solve the problems needed to make their vision a reality and to give the story they tell meaning.It's left me with a big smile :)
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A quiet call for improvement, compassion and understanding
I have a lot of time for youth drama, especially Japanese films. This one is gorgeous in its simplicity whilst drawing in complexity through quiet touches of the brush, moments which imply more than they state.The situation Sarya is in because of her family's status as refugees and from a people without a nation is both social and political commentary, a quiet call for improvement, compassion and understanding, and metaphor for the struggles of a young person to find her place, not because of her own uncertainty but because she doesn't fit neatly into society's expectations.
If the ending confuses you, look to what is implied. There is sadness, and there is hope.
May we all do better for our young people and for all who need our help.
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this could have been an e-mail
If you get on with the first few episodes, you'll probably be like those who give this lakorn glowing reviews. If you don't, give it a miss. It doesn't change. It shifts gears around episode 7 or 8, as Ch 3 sometimes does, but that doesn't last.It's slow, with a lot of padding and filler, and lacks the zip and zing of the kind of lakorn which skims merrily over every plot hole to develop and explore the emotions. This does focus on emotions - pretty much every story line focuses on relationship woes, the occasional resolution, yearning or jealousy - but somehow it all feels cliched and thin. They don't have the richness or depth of the emotions of a good lakorn.
There's a place for all of that of course. I adore the refuses-to-be-rushed pacing of many Thai movies and would have been happy with slow if it had been less cliched. Not everything has to be heavy, and some Thai directors have a genius for integrating serious issues into comedy without losing lightness. I couldn't see that here. It was more like a wash of Meaning brushed across it now and again.
Amongst it all, there are some good messages about being with someone who supports and values you. It's one of many Ch 3 lakorns which incorporate a nod towards women's issues, from workplace inequality to women's sexual agency and desire. The FL is of course a good girl though, because of course. But it also embraces and perpetuates stereotypes, like the supposedly smart lawyer who's figured out a genius move to win her case but is shown floundering - at length - in the court room for the sake of drawn out drama.
And the cat-fighting, jealousy and bickering between women because of men. Even the struggle to be the first woman partner in the law firm is really about a man.
I've finished ep 12, four to go, and I'm dropping it (again) because it's all gone on too long and the obstacles they're throwing in are contrived and insubstantial. Maybe I'll plod on another day but that's more from a sense of not liking to leave things unfinished than real interest.
But it works for some, so if you get on with the first few episodes you'll likely enjoy the rest. There won't be much to get in your way.
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about that ending
The story is gripping, well-crafted and -paced, although often difficult, sometimes disturbingly so. Baifern and Lukkade were pitch perfect in their roles. The men did well too. But this is so much more than entertainment.Every single note of this is set up to heighten our emotions and deliver their intensity directly into a call for change. May it be heard, and not lost as everyone moves on in search of the next thrill.
Specifics about the ending in comments so it can be hidden with a spoiler. Not just what happens to the main characters, but all which followed. Koo Ekkasit is amongst Thailand's best directors for grappling with social issues - and especially trauma which comes from them - with conviction, depth and compassion. Always compassion. When there are things you don't like in his work, look deeper. In everything I've seen, there's always a reason, there's always more.
I know you're all busy and rushing off to the next thing, but if you've already seen the series please take a moment to click through and read the spoiler-hidden comment. It's about the ending specifically.
Thicha is less revenge drama and more about justice. That's said in dialogue. Thai television sometimes feels like a country in conversation with itself on what it wants to become. The statement everyone involved in this makes is loud and clear. May it be heard and acted on.
Please.
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Worth seeking out
An inquisitive, full of life young Thai woman ends up in Japan on her own and not knowing the language. The family at the farm where she'll be living and working for three weeks is warm, kind and welcoming. Two more show up and cause a bit of chaos. There's a fair bit of sightseeing and a lot of food, some out at markets and restaurants but the most memorable are at home amongst this found family.Everything is balanced. Jook's vitality, Mee's calm steadiness; uncle Hattori's mischievous grin, his daughter Naomi's gentleness; difficulties when there isn't a shared language, the ways they find around that. All of the characters are well thought out and portrayed. They're each distinct in personality but fit together well. It's a lovely group of people to spend time with.
It's a quiet series, which might disappoint some. The emotions aren't big or dramatic, they're just very real.
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I could give you my current understanding of it, after one viewing and some reflection, but that would be far too limiting. It's the kind of film which invites us to participate, to consider its pieces from different angles and points of view. Perhaps there isn't a single meaning or interpretation, but something more like a hologram or a kaleidoscope of shifting interpretation.
The emotions are clear throughout. Maybe that can be a key for those who aren't used to this way of watching a film? There's a question in the non-linear narrative which may not have an answer. Don't get caught up in that, but let yourself be open to the possibilities. This film is worth that kind of attention, simultaneously close and careful, but also loose and free.
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And in that, a girl's happiness is necessarily sacrificed because the happy ending is for the boys. Technically that's a spoiler, but the movie's feet are so firmly planted in the pro-gay BL messaging it's a given and the girl is just a prop.
Yay for the boys, it's lovely that way. But I'm left wondering what this does to girls and young women, always rooting for the boys and always being the ones to lose out. The prominent, crystal clear positive messaging for gay boys is such a contrast with the but of course barely worth mentioning negative signal for girls' place in this. Some are more equal than others.
It's strange to finish a movie like this feeling unsettled, and many here will scold me from the other side of the screen, but that's where I am with this. Yay for the boys. What effect does watching a lot of BL have on girls and young women, always coming in second if they're there at all?
Aside from that, it's sweet, well-made and very wholesome. For the boys.
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