A Gift

A Gift is a film that is dedicated to respecting the musical composition of the Thailand King, Bhumibol Adulyadej. This film divided into three stories about six young people who try to face the challenges of their lives.

The first story, tells the story of Beam and Pang who were asked to act as the Russian Ambassador and his wife at the scholarship reception rehearsal to Russia. This romantic story is able to make the audience carried away.

The second story tells the story of the Fa who stopped working because he wanted to focus on caring for his father. After his mother's departure, Fa's father suffered from Alzheimer's. His friend tried to help the Fa who believed that his father could recover by playing a memorable song between his father and his mother.

The third story tells about Llong, a former rock band vocalist who failed to reach his dream. Llong also chose clearer jobs as financial analysis. Unintentionally, Kim, a new friend in her office, knows Llong's background and tries to bring Llong back to the music world by becoming a part of the band in the office where they work.

The three stories above have struggles in each storyline and are packaged together in a coherent manner by linking some of the main characters in each story. So, overall the film is associated with each profession owned by the main characters in the film. Although these three stories are different, the storyline in them is still easy to understand and not confusing. The romance that is presented is easy to digest, does not require much effort to understand it. Comedy is also often tucked in between films to break the emotional mood of romance and serious circumstances. Moral messages also remain, but always given in an implicit way.

If you are on social media, you would no doubt have been charmed by those sublime Thai commercials. Just a few minutes and they tell a poignant story with a powerful message. So you know you are in good hands with this Thai movie which linked three different love stories based on the music composed by King Bhumibol who passed away last year.

A Gift is the best film I have seen in the past week. It is suffused with music and the theme of how music can underscore the present, remind you of the past and its ability to give joy is a compelling one. Above all that, it is a moving tribute to their beloved late King. I watched, laughed, cheered and cried with all the winsome characters through all the zany histrionics. All the six main actors actually learned a musical instrument to portray their part convincingly. The writing is inspired and how the filmmakers linked all the vignettes is beautiful. I felt my soul being lifted up and my heart swelled to a point it burst into a kaleidoscope of cherry blossom petals.

Sometimes a film can be so honest and genuine that I don't even want to put on my critic's hat and be swept away by the sheer magic. This is one of those films – a perfect date movie.

Needless to say that I hadn't even heard about this 2016 Thai movie titled "A Gift" prior to sitting down in 2022 to watch it. I didn't know what it was about, aside from it being a Thai movie. And that was, essentially, all that was needed for me to sit down to watch it.

"A Gift" is three different stories that are rather nicely linked together for a great whole picture, and writers Chayanop Boonprakob, Jira Maligool, Nithiwat Tharatorn and Kriangkrai Vachiratamporn definitely did a great job in writing the individual segments and stories as stand-alone stories, but at the same time managed to connect all three stories in a very beautiful manner.

Each story - or segment - is a unique story and one that differs from the other two in the movie, but at the same time they are interwoven and connected in a rather wholesome and beautiful way.

The first story is about Beam and Pang, a very unlikely couple that fate brings together for a scholarship rehearsal. It is a light-hearted story and I was especially impressed with the song and dance choreography at the end of the story.

The second story is about Fa and her father whom has Alzheimer's. This was the most heart-tugging of all three stories, and it was really, really beautiful. And I found myself moved to tears as this story came to a conclusion.

The third and final story is the most upbeat and cheerful one, as it tells the story of Llong, a former rock singer whom has to unite the workers at his new office job in order to practice the music that they love. There is a good amount of comedy in this particular story.

Something that really impressed me in "A Gift" was the cast ensemble and the really amazing performances that the cast put on. They really put their heart and souls into their performances and brought to the screen very memorable performances and realistic characters. They really carried the movie quite well here.

While "A Gift" is a watchable and enjoyable movie, I fear that it is a movie that will not easily find a place with everyone in the audience. I enjoyed it, however, and was genuinely entertained with all three stories. However, I would say that if you get the chance to watch this 2016 Thai movie, you should do so, because it is well-worth sitting down to watch.

My rating of "A Gift" lands on a six out of ten stars.

This movie has 3 stories with the related characters. First story, My most liked, It is a normal love story until it includes the body percussion! The song is so good and impressive. It's worth to listen. Second is about a daughter living with old father with amnesia. It's an emotional part that base on the truth, sometime we forget the precious memory in the relationship although we don't have any amnesia. The third one is like a summarizing of all story. It's the real new year's gift from this movie. All the stories have their main song and also provide happiness. Worth to watch.👍