Reviews

3 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
8/10
The Title Said It All
14 July 2006
Metrosexual is a term coined by British journalist in 1994 describing a man of any sexual orientation who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle. However, in this movie, one might not be able to draw a conclusion on the theme of the movie by its English title as directly as an official Thai title "Gang Chanee Kap Ee-aep," which could be literally translated as "the chicks gang and a closeted gay man." The movie tells a story of a group of friends which consists of five working metropolitan girls in their late 20's and early 30's. One of a girls suddenly announces that she will soon get married with a perfect guy, who seems to know it all when it comes to cosmetic, cooking and shopping. The rest of the gangs think that the guy is "too" perfect. The paranoid of their lovely friend getting married with a "closeted" gay man looms in, thus the gang embarks on the quest for the truth. Are they mistaken? If not, could they get the truth before the engagement ceremony? While the gangs are in the journey for the truth, they still have to deal with their own life and love affairs. This is a proof of love, friendship and self-actualization for all...

The movie is directed by Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, whose previous works including the Iron Ladies I & II and M.A.I.D. You may notice that all of his movie focus on what we call a minority group in the society; either a transvestite or a servant. One might think that this movie would feature heavily on a closeted homosexual man. While it is not totally wrong, this movie takes a wider look on friendship and love, with homosexuality only in the background. The director even stated that he has been maturer in movie making, thus his movie would now be maturer as well.

In fact, the groups of five leading actresses in the movie is not a new face in Thailand. They are all household name as news anchors and hosts of TV news talk show. You shouldn't expect much about their acting as they are not a professional actress. However, their characters in the movie is almost exactly the same as their on-screen TV appearances, thus an audiences in Thailand would have no problem enjoying numerous local jokes and puns in the movie. There also wouldn't be a problem for a foreigner to enjoy the movie as the script depicts a universal theme and the character establishment is strong. The credit should go to the script-writers who did a marvelous job in putting a story together. The dialogues in the movie are full of sharp and quick-witted quotation.

All in all, the movie is enjoyable to watch even though the ending is a little bit too cliché.
9 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Dorm (2006)
8/10
Always expect the unexpected.
6 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Boarding school life has never been an enjoyable experience as you have to be far away from your home, be separated from your beloved parents and be surrounded by an unfamiliar environment. In this movie, there is no exception for a main character, a boy who was sent to boarding school in a middle of an academic year. Felling misery and abandoned, he befriended with a mysterious boy who stayed in the same dormitory with him.

In Thailand, the movie had been promoted as a scary movie. All promotional materials including movie teasers and trailers led everyone to think that way even though there had never been any exact clue from the director. There was only the speculation from an on-line community of what the movie will be like before it was released.

*** The following part of the comment contains spoiler. Please do not read further, if you want to be surprised.***

The movie-goers walked into the theater expecting to fear and scream from numerous scary scenes as shown in the trailers. The director didn't fail them in the first half of the movie, as there were enough scary elements that played with emotion of the audiences through a skillful cinematography. However, once the main plot was revealed in the second half of the movie, "Dek Hor" transformed itself from a scary movie into a coming-of-age drama which emphasized on a friendship between the main character and a lonely spirit that was doomed to haunt in the dorm. Yes, there was actually a "ghost" in this movie but not a scary type. In fact, the spirit was a former student whom was left to die in the pool because of friends' misunderstanding. The main character and the spirit shared the same feeling of loneliness and ignorance from the world around them. This might be the reason why the main character is the only person who could see the spirit. In the end, this estranged friendship teaches both the main character and the audiences how a person could go beyond one's limit to help the one he cared of.

Charlie "Nak" Trairat, a young actor who starred a leading role in an critically acclaimed nostalgia Thai movie called "Fan Chan" ("My Girl") two years ago, made his comeback as a main character in this movie to work with his familiar director, Songyos "Yong" Sugmakanan – one of six co-directors from "Fan Chan." The director told a story from his own childhood experience of years in boarding school and added up some spices of horror to create this drama/thriller movie. Moreover, former superstar Jintara "Mam" Sukkhaphat (or Chintara Sukapatana, depending on how you spell her Thai name, who used to star with Robin Williams in the 1987 movie called "Good Morning, Vietnam") also joined the cast in the role of a dormitory mentor. In fact, this is a reunion of Jintara with Charlie who both stared in a Thai movie called "Karnlakrung Nueng Muea Chao Nee" ("Once Upon a Time ... This Morning") a decade ago when Charlie was only one year old. There is also a noticeable new-comer in this movie. Another young actor, Sirachuch "Michael" Chienthaworn who is not a new face for Thais as he used to star in a number of local TV soap operas, made his debut in the role of a lonely spirit. He did a great job in this challenging supporting role.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie, even though the ending is too predictable. The change of genres of the movie, intentional or not, is an element of surprise in this movie. At least, it's unexpected to feel good after you realized that you came to the theater for a horror movie but ended up watching a drama.
13 out of 14 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
A boy who became a star...
6 March 2006
This is a true story of Japan's first ever mahout named Sakamoto Tetsumu. As a teenager, Tetsumu had a tough relationship with his friends and family. Until he met an elephant named "Randy," Tetsumu realized that he had a talent and could get along well with elephant. He then decided to come to Thailand and trained himself to be a mahout - the first ever Japanese to do so.

Yuya Yagira, a boy who won best actor at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival from his debut movie "Nobody Knows," is starring as Tetsumu Sakamoto. This might be a strong point for advertising the film as everyone would still remember him. The boy is certainly a good actor but as the film was mainly shot in northern part of Thailand and Thai language is extensively used in film, Yuya's Thai accent is annoying. This might not be a problem if you don't know any Thai words. However, as a Thai, I felt distracted every time he tries to speak Thai.

The story itself is touching and true to life. Comedy elements are added in the movie to soften the main dramatic theme. Watch out the last scene when you might get carried away and cry your eyes out. If you are animal lovers, especially elephant, I am sure you would love this movie. At least, you would see a lot of scenes showing off intelligent Thai elephants. I am sure Tourism Authority of Thailand would love to see this movie promoting Thai elephants.
4 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed