Ruang talok 69

This is one of those films where nothing is overly blatant, hardly anything is granted by ways of the lead character's internal character and history, and it isn't jam-packed with various sceneries, dialog, etc. Nothing is too 'in your face', hardly any emotion is shown or felt throughout the film, and even (despite the various killings), action seems to be lacking... It's decidedly quiet, introverted and monotone and YET, somehow completely quirky, insane and colorful at the same time. The film is intelligently crafted in such a way that, by the end of the film, you aren't sure WHAT to make of it, or how to classify it... Except you do know one thing; whatever you just watched, you know, in retrospect, you loved it. And even after identifying the fact that you enjoyed the ride, you still wouldn't rank this strange, ambiguous little film as your top film, but for that you just love it all the more.

It's bizarre, zany, quirky, inane, insane, full of black humor and wit, and full of hidden metaphors and analogies not immediately accessible. You can tell when its over that despite its absurdity, within all the intermediary spots where much is left unsaid, the director has packed a good deal for you to think about, and clearly had some lucid, thought-out objectives for the film.

An intelligent, unique little film that's a heck of a fun ride to watch. Highly recommended!

Lalita Panyopas plays Tum, a young lady just laid off from a finance company. She is naturally deeply affected by it and thinks of suicide. All of a sudden, outside her door, there is a box of cash, which she brings in. Of course, she is visited by two thugs who want the money back, which she denies having, so they walk away. Is that the end of that? Of course not. She kills the two guys while trying to save her own life and now has they lying in her small apartment. It turns out, the money was left outside her door by mistake (the title of the movie is the clue). The film then chronicles what happens to Tum. This is a pretty twisted film, like a horror film, but without any supernatural forces. It has a strange, compelling rhythm to it, and it kept my interest. Once you have the first two thugs killed, you're hooked on what will happen next. Believe me, a lot does. Some of it is fairly preposterous, but darkly comic. Ms. Panyopas is a pretty good actress, not classically pretty, but attractive. You can't imagine being her, and, despite the monetary windfall, you don't want to be her. The moral is money is the root of all evil, and it is presented to us again and again. I liked this, check it out.

None of my friends, here in Bangkok, said they like the film. My taste might be different but I think Ruang Talok 69 (the Joke 69) is really good.

My reason is that it is a strong and good satire of life in Bangkok and the Thai culture. The Asian financial crisis in 1997, the boxer gangsters (they wear Muay Thai jackets), the rural guy who misses his mom, the sadistic wife, the obscene phone call, etc. all are somehow relating to real situations and real people here. You might be surprised to learn that in Bangkok there are a lot of actual cases of Thai wives cutting their husbands'..... eh, you know which part I'm talking about.

These kind of things so weird and don't make any sense but they are what we face in our daily life. Thai people are so used to them that we sometimes forgot to realize how non-sense they are. So non-sense that it's actually funny. And it's great to see it mocked so tastefully in this movie.

I liked this movie a lot. And when I read the comments, I was glad to know some other people liked it too.

Thailand's film industry is on a competitive level with other Asian countries now. One of the finest examples is this thriller with the strange English title. It mainly takes place in the appartment of a young woman who accidentally becomes a murderer, and - by and by - almost a mass murderer. The coincidences in this movie lead to a lot of laughters while the Thai actors are portraying themselves self-ironically. This is a sure killer at phantasy filmfestivals and the like where shootouts, splatter and funny gangsters are most welcome. From the fine script over the professional camerawork to a soundtrack that makes you want to know more about Thai music 6ixtynin9 was one of the greater surprises at Milano's MIFED 2000. The movie was awarded a Special Jury Prize at the Festival des 3 Coninents in France.

6ixtynin9 (Ruang talok 69) is without doubt a film of acquired tastes, a pic that's hard to recommend with any great confidence. That is, though, unless you have a kink for violent black comedy crime movies, where the narrative drive is quirky and fulsome, even winsome in some regards.

Story finds Lalita Panyopas (excellent) as Tum, a lady who has just been laid off from work courtesy of lots being drawn. Feeling desperate and at the end of her tether, she's amazed to find on her doorstep a noodle box with $25,000 in it. A gift from the gods? Not quite! And once some shifty gangster types come knocking at her door, nothing will ever be the same again...

There's a whole ream of films this draws from, but favourably so, especially since the films often referenced in reviews are pretty tasty in themselves. Yet this is no hack job, director and writer Pen-Ek Ratanaruang has crafted a splendid pot of Thai neo-noir curry, putting his own stamp on things, imbuing the pic with his own flourishes, such as showing acts of violence off screen! Via a shadow, a splatter of blood, or a pair of legs going limp.

The characters who inhabit this world are gloriously strange or purely deranged. The henchmen are from a Thai boxing club, garishly attired in bright red clobber (film is packed with pronounced reds), one of them is even deaf, while their boss is a bit off the map, likes to have one of his charges massage him with is feet. There's a phone sex pest, who ends up being a real key component to how things pan out, and one of the baddies reveals tears and a most bizarre death in the family!

It's all deliciously off kilter, even as the bodies pile up, the black comedy tongue is prodding away at the inside of the cheek. But ultimately its noir heart is with the vagary of fate and of the coincidences that pitch our everyday woman (she's no moll or assassin type) into a bloody and bonkers world. All of which has hinged, ironically, on a number badly screwed to an apartment door! 8/10