Bangkok Love Story (2007)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Poj Arnon

Writer:

Poj Arnon (writer)

Release Date:

15 September 2007 (Thailand)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Love is Dangerous

Plot Keywords:

Bangkok | Gay Romance | AIDS | Hiv Positive | Carrier

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Rattanaballang Tohssawat	...	Mehk - Cloud
Chaiwat Thongsaeng	...	Itt
Wiradit Srimalai	...	Mawk - Fog
Chutcha Rujinanon	...	Saai - Sand
Suchao Pongwilai
Chonprakhan Janthareuang
Uthumporn Silaphan
Rachanu Boonchuduang

Also Known As:

Pheuan... Guu rak meung waa (Thailand: Thai title)
Puen (Thailand: Thai title)

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

Thailand

Language:

Thai

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Singapore:R21 (cut) | Taiwan:R-12 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Raw Yet Tender Love Story From the Underbelly of Bangkok

The cover of the DVD for this very fine film is misleading: the photograph of the two leads in a rather quiet and elegant setting is about as far from the content of the cinematic adventure as imaginable. Writer/Director Poj Amon has created a love story that is more from the underbelly of the poor section of Bangkok than it is from the expected physical beauty of that Thai city, and rather than focusing on the 'tourist view' of Thailand, he instead finds a different kind of beauty molded into a love story from a far different perspective. And it works very well.

In the world of Thai organized crime there is a star assassin - Maek ((Rattanaballang Tohssawat) - who kills 'bad people' to satisfy his bosses but cannot kill 'good people'. He is the sole support of his mother and younger brother, both of whom suffer from AIDS - the source of their infection is the abusive live-in stepfather. Maek wants to provide a good home for his little family, somewhere away from the slums of Bangkok, so that his little brother will no longer have to ply the hustler role on the streets to help support his ailing mother. Maek is assigned a 'hit' and in stalking the young lawyer he is supposed to assassinate he finds an attraction to the obviously good, married, handsome Iht (Chaiwat Thongsaeng). When the moment comes to complete his grim duty, Maek cannot kill a 'good man' and in the setup Maek himself is shot. Iht is compassionate and rescues Maek from the streets, taking him to his shelter to nurse him back to health. The two men bond and eventually submit to their passion. Yet when Maek recovers, he cannot face the truth of his feelings and separates himself from Iht. Iht's wife is suspicious about Iht's distance, stalks him, and witnesses a secret moment of passion between Maek and Iht, and the discovery turns her into a potential assassin herself. Iht is now by himself, unable to regain Maek's commitment until a series of events leads to the ultimate arrest of Maek: from the imposed separation caused by Maek's incarceration, Iht remains faithful to his love. The ending could have been triumphant (and for moments it is, emotionally), but instead Poj Amon opts for tragedy, a writer's decision that makes the film even more powerful.

The cast of actors is excellent and the chemistry between the two leads is undiluted by the forces that are meant to separate them. In the end, this is a love story between two classes of people whose discovery of a forbidden love emphasizes some universal truths. It is a well- made, beautifully photographed film (Tiwa Moeithaisong is the gifted cinematographer) that deserves a wider audience. Grady Harp