ctowyi

Esteemed film critic Roger Ebert once declared that movies are towering empathy generating machines, a statement I wholeheartedly embraced and there is no better demonstration of this phenomenon than with How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies. The see-saw of emotions and the rollercoaster of feels, what a ride it was!

Writer-director Pat Boonnitipat didn't even try to reinvent the wheel. You know exactly what will happen in the end; there is no final miracle cure (here's looking at you, Queen of Tears), there is no "it is always darkest before the dawn" ending and there is no final twist (there is a kind of twist but Choo whispered to me what the twist will be an hour before it dropped and she was of course correct. How does she do this every time?), but this is testament to great storytelling in that you don't need any twists and turns, flashy cinematography, full orchestration, CGI dream sequence or the whole shebang to serve up a scrumptious dish of the feels. You just need authenticity without any artifice.

The movie's greatest asset is its relatability. If you are born into an Asian family with ancestral roots that stretch wide and beyond, you will sense the familiarity with all the characters. Perhaps you will see manifestations of your relatives and family members here - the long-suffering daughter, the son who feels problems that can be solved by money are not problems, the calculative daughter-in-law, the good-for-nothing son and the kid whose eyes are glued to the computer screen. The story is fictional but it feels true to life with its keen observation of family dynamics when the death of the matriarch is imminent and the vultures start to circle. Grandma isn't stupid, she knows why she is the centre of attention and even M is not spared when she says to him: "you are also sowing seeds in hope of reaping them right?"

Credit has to be bestowed upon the actors who breathed life into their characters. I am surprised this is Usha Seamkhum first acting role. She is such a natural without a single smidgen of artifice. Putthipong "Billkin" Assaratanakul is the perfect foil to Amah's no nonsense approach to life. You will follow his arc fervently knowing he will wise up to the ways of life and when that moment arrives it is so subtle that you know it is an accumulation of Amah's many interactions with him.

Though the plot is straightforward I doubt anyone will find this boring. As it steamrolls towards the inevitable ending, it will happen - your tears will flow, but know that every rivulet will be well-earned just like every peal of laughter. Incidentally, this is currently the highest grossing film in Thailand and Indonesia, evidence that it has resonated with many audiences.

This is that rare film that Choo and I were still talking about over breakfast this morning probably because we didn't want the magic to dissipate, desperately trying to hang on to the tendrils of a heartfelt story. You will be surprised that we can still unearth vignettes of truth after a good night of sleep like a quick scene of a monk in a wheelchair at the chemo clinic as if to suggest that sickness affect everyone, including the religiously pious ones or the scene where Amah goes to meet her estranged brother to borrow money for a burial plot. My theory is that Amah already knows the outcome but she still wanted M to learn a hard life lesson.

School is out. Forget about taking your kids to The Garfield Movie, instead take them to see this. Don't be ashamed to let them see you cry and laugh heartily. After the movie, sit down somewhere and over a warm drink, share stories about your mother, their grandma. I think for a few minutes, she will be alive in everybody's memory.

There are movies whose trailers conveniently summarise the entire plot. When I first saw the trailer before the screening of The Boy and the Heron, I could connect the dots and map out the plot: a bitter student named Pae (Anthony Buisseret) is befriended by Joe (Pisitpol Ekaphongpisit) much to his displeasure. Soon, Joe dies in a car accident and Pae sees the perfect opportunity to get into the good book by making a short film to commemorate Joe's death even though he has no real connection to Joe. To complicate matters, Joe's friend Bokeh (Thitiya Jirapornsilp) knows Pae is using Joe's demise for selfish reasons.

But I still wanted to see the movie because there is something about character redemption arcs that I love. Seeing a bad person break good sounded like a nice way to spend 2 hours, but I was totally blown away and completely bowled over by a third act twist I never saw coming. The trailer wisely never gave away any hint of this and when the revelation dropped the movie became emotionally complex, my favourite territory in narratives.

Even if the initial setup of and the cascading events are formulaic, there is something affable and relatable about the characters. It reminded me of the friends I once had and the friendships forged during that period of life were never cosmic events. They tend to be based on common and aligned interests, and defined by fun and social activities. I am still friends with many, friends I made in my adolescent years.

The first two acts of the movie coast along like carefree laughter in the school canteen and it is also a love letter to cinema. Then it evolves to examine the nature of friendship between teenagers - like what constitutes a close friend, how does others define you as a good friend, how you define friendship for yourself and how one can never truly know another whom you called a friend. I loved some of ideas of friendship presented like a scene in a bus when Pae shares with Joe a secret he is ashamed of and Joe affirms him by saying he is a friend to him from this moment onwards and not from that episode in the past.

The performances by the two leads are fantastic and even Ekaphongpisit in the flashback sequences is great. They are very natural and wacky in their roles. In them I see myself in the past, a time when the pressures of life still do not have a stranglehold on me.

Not Friends is one of those rare movies that trod lightfootedly towards a pre-ordained destination, then suddenly swerved unexpectedly from the left field and totally charmed my socks off and even earned some tears. It also happens to be chosen by Thailand to compete in next year's Oscars in the Best International Film category. I doubt it will land up in the long list because it is not the type of film the Academy typically votes for. Don't let that stop you from checking it out and it might remind you of a time when you have friends like Pae, Bokeh and Joe.

Where the Wind Blows boasts two super stars in Tony Leung and Aaron Kwok, but it is a total snooze fest at 2h 24min. The story is about a few good men in a sea of dirty cops and politicians. The storytelling is so choppy that after a while you will feel like puking out all the rubbish history lessons forced down your throat. It is well-acted no doubt but the story is not even coherent. It's like in any scene there is a beginning, a middle and an ending, but the director will just show you one out of the three and wants you to connect the dots. Such an utter waste of good actors. The moral lesson is that you should be the baddest bad guy because you can retire to Canada or Thailand and nothing will happen to you. Avoid this like it's the newest variant of COVID-19.