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Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**
Decided to do one more for now, since that will have covered all the Thai films I've seen so far, though I definitely intend to see more. Some on my list are Dear Galileo, 5 Phrang (Phobia 2) the sequel to 4bia, and maybe one day Tears of the Black Tiger.
Rak Haeng Siam ("Love of Siam")- Love of Siam is often credited by people the last few years as their first exposure to Thai pop films. Part of the buzz was credited to its intentionally misleading marketing (think Bridge to Terabithia kind of misleading). Initially, it was marketed a fluffy, summer teen romance flick.
Love of Siam begins with young Tong and Mew. Mew is a stubborn child that is picked on one day in the bathroom at school and Tong saves him from the bullies. After that, they are best friends. One day, Tong's family is taken on a short business trip. Tong's sister, Tang, does not wish to go on their trip and instead to join her friends on a camping trip. Their father, Korn, lets her, despite protest from their mother, Sunee. Her friends are separated from Tang some time during the trip and nobody is able to find her. In grief, Tong's family movies away, ending his and Mew's short friendship.
In senior year of high school, Tong and Mew meet again in Siam Square. Mew is now the singer and songwriter of a band, August. Mew has a neighbor, Ying. Ying has unrequited affections for Mew. Tong has a girlfriend he is slowly growing distant from because of his troubled home life. Korn continues to blame himself for letting Tang vacation with her friends, and drowns his sorrows in booze every day. Sunee is beginning to feel the pressure of having to provide for and hold the family together all on her own. To add to Tong's confusion, Mew is starting to show feelings for Tong that are not mere friendship.
There's a lot the marketing people didn't tell the audience, which I brought up in the second paragraph of my description of the movie. The movie is not just about teenage relationships. It is also a family drama, and also follows the friendship between the various characters. Oh, and if you caught the last part, the teen couple of the movie is not a boy-girl couple. It's a pretty heavy movie, high on drama, no on comedy. Any attempt to describe the movie honestly betrays the impact and contemplation that many viewers experience after watching Love of Siam. My only complaint about it is that, clocking in at slightly under 3 hours long, it inevitably drags at some points.
I am posting 2 different places to buy it because each set has different pros and cons about them.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Siam-Sinjai-Plengpanich/dp/B002HP4LH4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257027081&sr=8-1"]Love of Siam at Amazon.com[/ame]
Pros: Subtitles are better (I presume). The aspect is correct.
Cons: This is the theatrical release, not the Directors cut, so you'd be missing out on some scenes that explain some things about the movie (they are not merely exposition material). Also, I don't own this myself, but by all indication, the set doesn't seem to have any Extras.
Love of Siam at YesAsia.com
Pros: Directors Cut release. This set has all the extras of the original Thai release.
Cons: The subtitles are not always good and some can only vaguely pass for English. But my biggest complaint is that the video is actually the wrong aspect ratio. It's fine to watch on the computer because my computer can fix the aspect ratio, but my DVD player cannot (I think some can, but mine can't).
Decided to do one more for now, since that will have covered all the Thai films I've seen so far, though I definitely intend to see more. Some on my list are Dear Galileo, 5 Phrang (Phobia 2) the sequel to 4bia, and maybe one day Tears of the Black Tiger.
Rak Haeng Siam ("Love of Siam")- Love of Siam is often credited by people the last few years as their first exposure to Thai pop films. Part of the buzz was credited to its intentionally misleading marketing (think Bridge to Terabithia kind of misleading). Initially, it was marketed a fluffy, summer teen romance flick.
Love of Siam begins with young Tong and Mew. Mew is a stubborn child that is picked on one day in the bathroom at school and Tong saves him from the bullies. After that, they are best friends. One day, Tong's family is taken on a short business trip. Tong's sister, Tang, does not wish to go on their trip and instead to join her friends on a camping trip. Their father, Korn, lets her, despite protest from their mother, Sunee. Her friends are separated from Tang some time during the trip and nobody is able to find her. In grief, Tong's family movies away, ending his and Mew's short friendship.
In senior year of high school, Tong and Mew meet again in Siam Square. Mew is now the singer and songwriter of a band, August. Mew has a neighbor, Ying. Ying has unrequited affections for Mew. Tong has a girlfriend he is slowly growing distant from because of his troubled home life. Korn continues to blame himself for letting Tang vacation with her friends, and drowns his sorrows in booze every day. Sunee is beginning to feel the pressure of having to provide for and hold the family together all on her own. To add to Tong's confusion, Mew is starting to show feelings for Tong that are not mere friendship.
There's a lot the marketing people didn't tell the audience, which I brought up in the second paragraph of my description of the movie. The movie is not just about teenage relationships. It is also a family drama, and also follows the friendship between the various characters. Oh, and if you caught the last part, the teen couple of the movie is not a boy-girl couple. It's a pretty heavy movie, high on drama, no on comedy. Any attempt to describe the movie honestly betrays the impact and contemplation that many viewers experience after watching Love of Siam. My only complaint about it is that, clocking in at slightly under 3 hours long, it inevitably drags at some points.
I am posting 2 different places to buy it because each set has different pros and cons about them.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Siam-Sinjai-Plengpanich/dp/B002HP4LH4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257027081&sr=8-1"]Love of Siam at Amazon.com[/ame]
Pros: Subtitles are better (I presume). The aspect is correct.
Cons: This is the theatrical release, not the Directors cut, so you'd be missing out on some scenes that explain some things about the movie (they are not merely exposition material). Also, I don't own this myself, but by all indication, the set doesn't seem to have any Extras.
Love of Siam at YesAsia.com
Pros: Directors Cut release. This set has all the extras of the original Thai release.
Cons: The subtitles are not always good and some can only vaguely pass for English. But my biggest complaint is that the video is actually the wrong aspect ratio. It's fine to watch on the computer because my computer can fix the aspect ratio, but my DVD player cannot (I think some can, but mine can't).
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