Mah nakorn

I saw this film at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. I'd heard some buzz around this film, that it was sort of a Thai Amelie. In fact, it's Amelie cranked up to 11. Which is entirely too much. This film is absolutely overstuffed with whimsy. A narrator tells us the story of country boy Pod, who comes to Bangkok to find work and falls in love with Jin. Along the way, he loses and then finds his finger, drives around a chainsmoking talking teddy-bear as well as a man who licks everything, and shares his house with a gecko that has the face of his dead grandmother. If that's not enough, the object of his desire is an obsessive neat freak who carries around a book written in Italian that she can't read. A case of mistaken identity sends her off on an environmental crusade that results in her accumulating a mountain (literally, a mountain) of plastic water bottles. Will this pair find love in the end? Well, by the end, I didn't care that much.

The problem was that the visual tricks and whimsy overwhelm the characters, who end up being nothing more than a collection of quirks. The constant voice-over also never really lets the characters tell their own stories, and the romance never feels believable.

Sasanatieng is obviously a director of huge talent, and there are quite a few great sight gags and some really original visuals. But there's just far too much of it. It's like eating a whole chocolate cake at one sitting. If he could tone down the trickery a bit, and find a story with real characters, he could one day make a really outstanding film. This isn't it yet, but I hope he does it.

I loved this movie. It's finally out on DVD with English subtitles which is how I got to see it. The other comments basically explain the plot. I was totally won over by the vivid colors and the simple love story that is central to the film and the absurd story elements. I haven't seen Amelie so I can't compare it as everyone else has done. I thought the acting of the leads was great. It can't be easy to play these characters, especially Pod who is often blank but at the same time you can see the wheels turning in his head. I suppose I am biased since I love Bangkok and the Thais, but even with all of the crazy plot lines and quirks I found the film to be charming. And of course having the song "Before" by ModernDog woven throughout the film made me love it even more. Definitely not a film for everyone, but as some one who sees a lot of indie movies I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In the first scene, we noticed that the director must be a Jean Pierre Jeunet fan. This is not bad. I really appreciate that but there are too much coincidences and resources already seen on Amélie. It's very interesting the way the colors are used. The descriptions of the protagonists is very similar to Jeunet most popular film. It seems to me a bit long in duration but there are some scenes very laughing and gallant. Maybe this young director could find a more consistent script for his next film and not to exaggerate with some resources that are, if so much used, boring. Despite the things I described, I really enjoyed the film. I laugh in several scenes and applaud when the film was finished.

Pod moves from the country to Bangkok. there he gets a job at a sardine company, meets Jin a maid with whom he falls in love,and eventually becomes a celebrity because he is the only one in the city with out a tail.(I'm leaving out the white book,the finger, the job shifts, the rain of helmets, the plastic mountain, the royal princess, tails, reincarnation and 9 or 10 other things) Off the wall fantasy romance environmental comedy with music. This is the sort of thing that could never get made in the United States and could only come out of Asia. I don't mean that as a put down, only that outside of the West people are more willing to let movies be what ever they are.

At turns charming, surreal, funny and too much this is a very wild movie. It drops you into its own little world and keeps you there. I have no idea how to describe it other than its its own animal and unlike any film that has ever been made outside of Thailand (I've seen some Thai films that are equally loopy). The music is good. the sentiment is sweet. All of the weird things that happen just seem to be taken in stride and its wonderful.

It also can be a bit overwhelming. Frankly by the time I put in the second VCD I was getting worn out. Too much whimsy for my taste. Actually its not the whimsy so much as some plot shifts that lengthen the story for no good reason (some of the environmental/Peter plot line seems to just go on) and the film seems to be running not so much in its own time but an allotted time.

If you can take the film for what it is and let it sweep over you like a tsunami then you'll probably have a good time. Definitely worth a look for those who hate the run of the mill.

yes this movie reminds me of Amelie of a few years back but only on some of the techniques. The sardine factor reminds me of the opening scene in Joe vs. the Volcano. (Another wonderful film) And even the central story is not original, the way the director told it is absolutely fabulous. However, the story is told by a third person narrator so this may turn some people off. And I suspect there are some local sayings, plus loads of little bits of side tracks and idiosyncratic characters that I failed to understand. The movie also tries to address, or touch on many issues, some social, some environmentatl, and some personal I suspect.

I saw this at the end of a very long film fest of some very serious, slow paced, well-intentioned, low-budgeted not well-used, and on top, very personal movies. So this was a tension release for me and great fun to watch.

Also, watch for the band playing the theme song at the end when the credits roll.