Rak haeng Siam

I remember that when this movie released the trailer ,it convinced many people to misunderstand that it was a cute teenage movie like many blockbusters from GTH like Seasons change ,Dear Dakanda,My girl.Until they saw this movie,many audience felt very upset because it was a gay movie.

Nevertheless,I think this movie is surprisingly great I've ever thought.It's more than a gay movie.It also portrays family problems as well as teenager's.It is a story about two boys Tong and Mew who confront losing.Tong lost his sister so his parents is down falling while Mew lost his grandma who was only his love in all his life. Everyone in this movie needs something vital to fulfill all life. Something is called Love.This movie can show how powerful love is. Love can inspire Mew to write and sing a lovely song.Love can make this movie enjoyable and impressive easily because the powerful love for making this movie.So I admire Madaew,the director who is able to prove how to make effective movies from a social criticizing horror like 13Beloved to a powerful love story.

Besides that,the performances in this movie are excellently outstanding.Especially,the veteran SinJaI as Tong's mom who must encounter several problems bravely such as losing her daughter,alcoholic husband even having realized a shocking truth about her son.She looks inconsiderate and fussy but actually she still love her husband and son deeply. When she is sad,she will cry naturally but makes me hurt so much meanwhile the other actors were able to act very well.I hope that the teen actors in this movie will be promising stars soon.

Just some general commentary as a U.S. viewer watching this movie: It's beautifully directed. I can't comment much on the writing, but as a gay viewer in particular, I really appreciate that the script interweaves two stories: coming out and the coherence of family in a time of grief. The reason I appreciate this is that, even in the U.S., when movies deal with homosexuality, it is generally treated as a singular issue that is separate and distinct from all others. In reality it is one part of the fabric of family and love that comprises everyone's life. Without this key insight, I think the movie would deal with the issue in too patronizing or shallow a manner, as many gay-themed movies do.

Prior to watching I was acutely aware of the commentary that the movie is overlong and not focused enough. There is some truth to this; it is a very long movie for its subject matter. But I think the movie's main strength is in its characters and central subject matter. With too much editing, I could easily see how the core of the movie would be lost. For me personally I was glad the director erred in favor of too much immersion in the interplay between his characters.

As to acting -- clearly I don't speak or understand Thai. But I think some things are universal, like the mother's strength and resolve in times of crisis. And of course Mew's smile. The connection is there.

I loved the movie and I hope it finds its way to broader distribution. If nothing else, the soundtrack should -- it's truly great.

Cheers!

Love hope sadness and joy !! I love this movie,not simply because its pure feelings but the love goes through it. You will love it no matter whether you are bent or straight!! After finishing this movie I cannot help crying, not fr sad, though it is a little sad in the end, but because those words and the whole press feelings in the duration of it. I am bent too, so I know how bitter it is for a gay to love a straight boy, and most of all, with a boy that cannot live with me but still says loves me!! Even in the straight world,it is unfair for both persons!! Wish you love it!!Cause it really exhibits a new world of your impression of Thailand!!

I am not a Thai...so I watched this movie with English subtitles...

I love this movie and from last weekend, I watched this movie at least twice.

After I watched this movie, I wanted to share my feelings, and I was confused because some people say this movie is a gay movie...

I strongly disagree with that.

I am living away from my parents. I am going back to my country in about a month.

In this movie, there are many love cases. Family love, Friends love... and so on...

Even though it was sad when Mew cried after Tong said to him that he can't be his boyfriend. But for me, my tears flowed when Tong's mom was in desperate situations. Her husband was alcoholic and she found out that Tong may be homosexual. She was so realistic. I could see her love for Tong, her son.

After I watched this movie, I missed my family and friends. I felt like whether I can take this being-alone thing... What if all these things turn out to be nothing...the things that Mew said about love were really touching to me... Especially I miss my family and friends.

This is not a gay movie. I did not feel like this is a gay movie except for the part when Tong and Mew kissed. But I understood that the director wanted to emphasize that point which means that Tong and Mew finally expressed how each one feels about the others.

This movie is about LOVE in our life. I agree that this movie does contain a gay-theme, but that is just a part of it.

I watched 'Rak haeng Siam' a week ago. And I love this movie!

Despite the recent controversy about gay issues in Thailand, this movie is not focused only on gay romances, but love in general.

In the movie, we witness various types of people's relationships and the acts of love they do to each other, whether they are of mother and son, brother and sister, grandmother and grandson, husband and wife, or the love among friends.

'As long as there's love, there's hope'. This sentence is from one of the film's theme songs (which are mostly written by the director-writer himself), and it exactly presents the tone of the movie: heartwarming and hopeful.

While being promoted as a movie about love, 'Rak haeng Siam' is also one of the best family and coming of age movies ever made. We can see how the characters have to cope with their past losses, and how they overcome their grief. The teenagers have found who they really are, what they want, and go on with their lives. These serious topics are delicately presented, thanks to the director who brilliantly helms the movie.

All the main cast are at their best, especially veteran Sinjai Plengpanit, as a woman who's desperate to save her family from being torn apart. Her performance is heartbreaking. Another praise for newcomers Witwisit Hirunwongkul and Mario Maurer, who play the major teenage roles. They are so into the characters we could believe this is real.

'Rak haeng Siam' is indeed a good film as many have said. It tells us even though our love is unanswered, we can still learn from it, and we should be grateful that, at least, we are once capable of loving.