


Director: Chukiat Sakveerakul 
Cast: Witwisit Hiranyawongkul, Mario Maurer 

The film garnered Best Film, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress in Thailand National Film Association Awards 2008 

Synopsis 
The film traces the lives of two kids, Mew and Tong, who used to be neighbours and close childhood friends. When they meet again as teenagers, how will their lives cross and change? 

My Thoughts 

- It is a film that will linger on after the credits start rolling ... 
* clap * ... 

- However, let me set the expectations right before one plunges into the film or start dissecting it into its parts. I humbly think the film is "great" as a whole, and its sum is indeed greater than its parts. In other words, if one were to wrongly tease apart all the subplot or artificially coerce it into a specific genre, one may fail to see why the film boasts of so much accolades or one may be able to cite many other films better in that specific genre. If one construes it merely as a teenage flick, one may be upset over its digression; If one desires a complex drama, one may be perturbed by its juvenile romance; If one dismisses it simply as a gay film, so much is lost; etc ... But if you insist, I humbly think it can be "categorized" as a "coming of age" film ... 

- Overall, it is a story about love. But this word is used in its broadest sense. The film relates many kind of love ... among family members, between spouse, between siblings, between friends ... between old and young, between girls and guys, between guys and guys ... On deeper thoughts, one can gather that the film is also about lost and found ... about hope and despair ... about living and dying ... about the past but also about the future ... To some extent, the film is also about faith and religion ... and about music, words, communication ... one can ask what is conveyed explicitly and what is not spoken but still communicated ... one can wonder why some people do certain things even if it does not seem radical or rational ... More importantly, there are numerous subtleties in the film that I thought are rather good ... Overall, I think the film describes human beings very well (from the protagonists to most of the supporting roles) ... 

Conclusion 
Recommended. But in case you leave the film wondering why all the accolades, isn't it just another "familiar" film?! I iterate again -- that the sum is better than its part! The film should be appreciated by how well it pieced together the separate pieces (which are not exactly new) and how well it portrayed people. Overall, it is a well told story ... 

PS: I suspect it may represent Thailand in next year's Oscar ... but who knows?!