Ataque do Coração

Simple, subtle, genuine and gracious watch of recent times; P.S.: Ending might make you look for Conclusion at your own... That's, both exciting and frustrating, all at once,,,

This film tells the story of a hard working freelance computer graphic designer, who is skilled, responsible and dependable. He takes pride in not sleeping to deliver the work on time, but it affects his health adversely. He sees a doctor but the health advice is conflicting with his work schedule. He has to make a difficult choice.

I am surprised that the Tuesday evening screening of "Heart Attack" is full! I guess it is getting good word of mouth. The film starts off really funny. The whole cinema laughs hard on many occasions. I really like the fact that Yoon's thoughts are super funny. The sound effect is great as well. There is this one scene where uplifting music (that signals something is coming up) is suddenly stopped, creating a powerful effect.

The actors and actresses are great as well. Yoon is nerdy but really likable. The doctor Imm is charming as well. Je is really lovely too, and she is just such a supportive friend. I think "Heart Attack" is a funny and delightful film. I enjoyed it, and i am glad it is shown in cinemas in Hong Kong. I would not have discovered this film otherwise.

Among the many GTH rom-coms we've come to love in recent years, we must confess that 'Heart Attack' is easily our very favourite – and that is despite the fact that it isn't a rom-com in the strictest sense of the word. Sure, there is a budding romance on the side between the 30-year-old Yoon (Sunny Suwanmethanont) and his regular public hospital doctor Imm (Davika Hoorne), as well as occasional bursts of laugh-out-loud humour courtesy of the same two leads, but at its heart (pun intended), this is a dark comedy about the perils of becoming a slave to the pursuit of career excellence above all else in life, including health, companionship and general well- being.

To translate such a theme into the subject of a movie isn't at all intuitive, which is all the more reason why writer-director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit deserves credit for having done so in such a quirky, witty and original fashion. Thamrongrattanarit builds an intimate character study around Yoon's freelance graphic designer, who is so devoted to his work that he prides himself for being able to go five days without sleep at the start of the film, while pooh- poohing the Ministry of Health's advice that every person should sleep at least six to eight hours a day. Yoon's zeal is partly his own desire to be the best in the industry and partly a result of the nature of the industry itself, in particular the whims and fancies of creative types who want a certain image to have a certain feel one day and a different feel the next.

Because of his blind commitment to work, Yoon has a grand total of three friends – one, his junior producer at an advertising agency named Je (Violette Wautier); two, a 7-Eleven store attendant named Kai from which he gets his favourite food of shrimp dumplings; and last, an old acquaintance whom he hasn't seen in years that he re- connects with at the former's father's funeral. He doesn't indulge in any recreational activities, for he sees time spent on these as time that could be better spent on yet another work assignment. And yes, sleep is also, to him, a waste of time. All that works out fine until he starts developing a rash on the back of his neck, which in no time spreads to the rest of his body.

After spending close to seven thousand baht at a private doctor and seeing no appreciable improvement to his condition (because he refuses to take the medicine that states sleepiness as one of the side effects), Yoon joins the snaking queues at a public hospital and meets Imm, a young resident who is still studying her medical books. As much as you'd like to see their doctor-patient relationship develop into love, Thamrongrattanarit avoids the obvious cliché and opts instead for something much more textured.

It is Imm who points out without resorting to platitudes just how absurd and damaging his lifestyle has been, the rashes only an external manifestation of how his body is breaking down inside. It is also Imm who suggests how he can change his life, whether is it taking up daily exercises, picking up a new hobby, developing new friendships or visiting the beach. Indeed, it is precisely Imm's personal and somewhat intimate touch that leads Yoon to have a change of heart, even taking his bedtime pills that he dubs 'elephant tranquilisers' just so he would not upset her. Because Thamrongrattanarit tells his story by and large from Yoon's perspective, there is no doubt that Yoon is in fact in love with Imm, but like our sleep-addled protagonist, we have no way of telling if she feels the same way.

Yet that ambiguity isn't necessarily a bad thing; in fact, keeping his viewer in suspense in the same way that Yoon is kept guessing allows Thamrongrattanarit to engender empathy for the self- destructive individual. No matter that we do not belong to the same industry, Yoon's fanaticism to be the best at what he does is easily identifiable. Ditto the unreasonable deadlines and unending list of demands that he has to fulfil as part of the job. Thamrongrattanarit uses Yoon's monologues to let us get inside the head of his lead character, but Suwanmethanont delivers a performance with such conviction that we not only hear but feel his desires, disappointments, frustrations and at the end of all that, his sense of inner peace.

Yoon's self-absorbed nature means that a good number of scenes consist of him in his spare bedroom staring at his Mac while scribbling on his sketchpad; that is also why his time with Imm is nicely complementary, even though much of it is spent within the confines of an outpatient visitation room. Thamrongrattanarit lets Yoon and Imm share about six or so extended scenes together, never rushing each of them but instead letting a sweet and natural chemistry develop out of their interactions. Like we said at the start, this doesn't build into a romance between the pair, but an undeniable connection that leads both to want the best for each other in utmost sincerity.

And so, even though 'Heart Attack' isn't a rom-com per se, it is winning in its observations and witticisms about the 'freelancing' profession, about choosing one's priorities in life, and about embracing the people and things that matter. At slightly over two hours, it is admittedly a tad longer and less punchy than it could be, but Thamrongrattanarit keeps a sharp focus throughout on Yoon, and that investment largely pays off in a character whom we grow over the course of the movie to root for. It is a carefully wrought character study all right, with its own delightfully distinctive voice and style that makes it one of the best – if not the most original – GTH film we've seen.

We were expecting to see the usual zany rom-com from Thailand, but we were totally surprised by its honesty and relevance in these present times.

The story couldn't be simpler... Yoon (Sunny Suwanmethanont) is the busiest 30-year-old freelance graphic designer and retoucher in Thailand. After staying up working for 5 days straight, strange rashes start to appear on Yoon's body. Yoon eventually relents and brings himself to a public hospital. There, he meets "Doctor Imm" (Davika Hoorne) and his life is changed forever.

Did I say it isn't a rom-com? It isn't, not in the strictest sense. However all the publicity and trailer seemed to suggest it is. What the movie does amazingly well is that it plays the game of "will they or will they not" brilliantly.

The movie is quiet, meditative and contemplative. It insightfully studies Yoon, a workaholic and what makes him tick. It is the same old narrative arc done a thousand times where a character loses sight of what is most important in his life, but thankfully it is never cliché and the director inserts levity in an otherwise dull subject. It also never engages you in a top-down approach and approach the subject in quite an original matter. I like some of the interesting scenes. For instance Yoon is so into his work that even during his best friend's father funeral he is searching for a wifi signal to do his work. Some of the more subtle scenes also moved me a lot like how in the beginning he was living from assignment to assignment, and later he was living from medical appointment to medical appointment.

The movie felt sluggish in the middle act but Suwanmethanont's nondescript facial expression is a delight to watch and his engaging performance smooths out the rough edges. His character is always mild-mannered but yet very captivating. We were willing him to do something with regard to Dr Imm and for him to slow down to smell the roses. How the movie does this in a way without the usual platitudes is a refreshing wonder.

This movie it's in my favourite list.. when I started to watch the movie I felt not so interesting but it hooked after some minutes.. this movie deserves more recognition.. I recommend to watch the movie.