Hom rong

An excellent biographical representation of a great musician. It is important to note some of the quotes that relate to the importance of keeping traditional music if a culture considers itself civilized. This may be a hint for we Americans to remember. I knew nothing of the instruments played in the movie. However, it surely held my interest and has encouraged me to do some research on them. Some of the scenery is so beautiful that it makes you want to make travel plans. More information on the musicians in the movie would be of interest. It is easy to understand why this movie won awards and nominations for awards. More movies showing the cultural side of Thailand will be welcomed in my home.

[The 'ranad ek' or 'ranad' is the Thai equivalent to a xylophone.]

Homrong ("The Overture") is a story about Sorn (the 'r' is not pronounced), who is a ranad ek musician that gradually grows from being arrogant and rebellious to becoming refined and dignified, discovering a new style of playing an old instrument.

The story takes place during the 80's and a time a bit earlier, when the monarch of Thailand decided to selectively adopt certain Western concepts and lifestyles. It's one of those movies that shows the character old and dying in the beginning, and then flashes back to when he was young and how he got to where he is. During this time, the music of the ranad, among other classical Thai instruments, becomes suppressed and controlled by the government of Thailand and playing in public becomes illegal. One scene shows a piano being brought into the old music teacher's place and there is a divine duet between the ranad and the piano (this serves as a subtle hint of the incorporation of Western standards and also shows the potential harmony of the East and West ideals.)

One thing I really respected was that the movie didn't overdose on the love factor, I felt that it kept it just right, given the overall tone and the intended effect of the movie.

The movie is, ultimately, about traditional Thai music and the pride that goes along it. I believe that this movie aims to bring about a new respect for the instrumental classical music, which my Thai friends would say, is a dying genre in Thailand. There was this dialogue between the older Sorn and a military official, where Sorn was likening the ethnic roots to the roots of a tree and how it can survive against torrents if it is deeply rooted that I found to be rather profound on many levels.

The movie borrows A lot from other movies (stately "The Legend of 1900"), yet it holds it's own unique charm. The acting is great for Thai standards and the music is ever-so-enchanting. The scenes where they play fast ranad songs are especially encapturing and intense. It follows a lot of basic formulas, and some of the scenes use really cheesy effects (such as the rain that falls when antagonist, Khun-In plays the "musical rebuttal" in Bangkok), yet I would say this movie is definitely worth watching, if not only to catch a glimpse of some of Siam's heritage.

I, definitely, believe that this is an all-round good movie. Worth watching on the big screen and owning on home video. I, for one, want to purchase this opus from Asia when it comes out on DVD, and I strongly recommend any international music-lover and/or ethnically-curious inquirer to look into getting ahold of this movie.

Judging this movie by Thai standards, I give it a 4/5.

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(By the way: I tried playing the ranad myself a few months back... the instrument is not easy AT ALL! It takes very skilled wrists to play at even an intermediate level.)

Some people have compared this movie with Amadeus. I would instead compare it to Karate Kid, which is more similar in spirit. This movie is a shallow and predictable movie. I couldn't sense any personal influences from the maker of this movie. As some other reviewers have written, the acting is pretty bad. And as for the music in the movie... the players didn't think about the music, but to play as fast as freaking possible. It was pretty interesting the first few tunes, but after a while I realized how mechanical and monotonous they were playing. It was like listening to someone practice scales. I felt cheated when I left the cinema... cheated of nearly 2 hours. One more thing... the movie lacked coherence and was pretty flat altogether.

By the way... Even though Karate Kid isn't a very deep movie, I think its a whole lot more convincing than this one.

3/10

For international interpret ability. I want to know how they think about but not a words such as "why he deserves Mozart?". It's not the point. The main point is to show "How strong of native social is very important, to cope with an alien culture attack". This kind of point do hardly found in Thai movies. It is true that you can not compare a goodness in music of one culture to another. Same to Luang Pradit Phairoh (Sorn Silapabanleng) is not Amadeus. You have to consider how much it serves the target listeners. Thai culture is very different to the West. The movie itself maybe less understandable by the way of culture interpretation, a simple fact. But it's not mean that those movies is not good enough.

"The Overture" certainly had a number of flaws, not least of which was for the audience to figure what was when. I had very little sense of time and place for any of it, and, at first, the flashbacks and flash-forwards were unanticipated and difficult to differentiate from the previous scene.

Nonetheless, such movies provide a rare insight into foreign cultures, and this one did just fine in that regard. The strongest element of "Overture" was the acting. I thought the cast did a generally wonderful job in bringing substance to the disparate collection of characters who populated this story.

While, to be frank, much of the music of southeast Asia is difficult to listen to for extended periods, this film did manage to demonstrate the subtlety and beauty of some Thai music. And is the competitiveness shown in this film part of the reality of traditional Thai music? If so, it seems the Thais have also made music, at some level, into nearly a blood sport.

By the way, some have written here of this film in relation to "Amadeus". To me, it is more like "Drumline".