Sayew

Part of the renaissance of Thai film. This one concerns a sexually confused young woman who writes a column for a pornographic magazine. She has no experience so she explores the lives of those around her. In the meantime she develops a crush on a female acquaintance but eventually realises her true love (male)is under her nose. This is not, however, a film about heterosexuality v. homosexuality but rather about one person's experience.

A low-key film like 'Cherm', (Jaturanrasamee's later film), this one is sentimental but doesn't rely on slapstick or mugging and is much the better for it. Like 'Cherm' there seems to be some problem finding an ending that satisfies.

The DVD has English subtitles making it a good choice for English speakers developing an interest in recent Thai films.

This movie falls into the category of "coming of age" stories. Tao is growing up while writing stories for her uncle Hia's pornography magazine. She is constantly daydreaming about sexual encounters while her real life is very tame in comparison. We see her daydreams and they are funny instead of explicit. From her daydreams you can tell that she is ignorant of what sex is really like and wonders if she is gay. The movie is about her quest to learn more about sex so that she can write better stories and finish her romantic literature thesis. Without spoiling anything, I'll say that she ends up learning just as much about herself.

The movie has many views of daily life in Bangkok. I'm not from Thailand but I recently spent a week in Bangkok. I think the movie captures some of the character of life in that city. This movie's humor is still carried across by the English subtitles. It was an enjoyable movie to watch.