This first film from director Aditya Assarat is mostly quiet and absorbing. The film tells of the relationship of Ton (Supphasit Kansen), an architect who is supervising the building of a resort hotel on the beach in southern Thailand, post tsunami, and Na (Anchalee Saisoontorn), a hotel clerk/maid who lives in a town in the mountains of Thailand. Ton stays at the hotel and slowly you see the relationship of these two people evolve,how it ebbs and flows. You see the sweet moments and challenges, including Na being concerned that the townspeople are gossiping about them. The two characters are fairly likable and Na seems to become prettier as the movie goes on. The scenery of the mountains is very nice, the cinematography is very good. This film is slow moving and has an undercurrent of foreboding throughout, but I found the pace to be essential and the acting by the two main actors very good. Even the musical score, mostly an acoustic guitar, is good. Not for everyone due to its slow moving pace, its a must for fans of Asian cinema and anyone who feels they can relate to a story like this. I felt this film was well made and captured the essence of time and place extremely well. A fairly impressive debut for Aditya Assarat.
Review of Wonderful Town
