Friday, December 7, 2007

Love of Siam (movie)


This movie is misleading. Some Thais expected a straight puppy love story. And with the title, I also expected a love story. I never expected that it would be a love story between two gay teenagers. I thought it only wanted to escape from the shadow of a previously released gay Thai movie (Bangkok Love Story).

But it is not really a gay love story. It is not even really a love story. It is about a family's struggle to adapt with the changes and challenges that life throws at them. It is a test of how they can hold on to each other as a family.

The love story is only a subplot of the four stories in the film that are parallel to each other. One story is the son's pursuit to find himself. Second is the father's struggle to accept the loss of his daughter. Third is the daughter who try so hard to prove herself to her parents. Fourth is the mother who try to keep the family together as she fears the loss of her husband and her son.

The director and the editing suck. I fell asleep on one part of the movie because it was dragging. I felt like I was watching a soap opera on a big screen. There are scenes that can be tightened and be more concise with a sensible editor.

The actors are brilliant though. The two male young actors are convincingly amorous towards each other. I never thought that men that young can pull it off. Kudos to Mario Maurer and
Witwisit Hirunwongkul.

If you do not like the plot, I still suggest that you watch it because of the sweetest kiss on the big screen. This kiss is just so sweet and innocent. I wish I had fallen in love that early in my life.

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