2003 film roundup - Odds and Sods

To continue the look back at the year in Thai films, here's a few of the films that were misses rather than hits on the Bangkok big screens:

• Beautiful Boxer - Released to a flurry of marketing (with the campaign being very public from the moment the film was conceived and before anyone had been cast), Beautiful Boxer flopped big time. Not many people, including myself, made time to see it. But friends who did gave it a solid 3/5 rating. The filmmakers have said they made it with the festival circuit in mind, so that's likely where it will make a name for itself, just as a similarly themed Thai sports film, Iron Ladies, did. Beautiful Boxer is a compelling enough true story, about a poor boy with yearnings to let out his inner female who becomes a devastatingly great Thai kickboxer and eventually earns enough winnings for a sex change operation. The director was newcomer Ekachai Uekrongtham, who made his name directing a hit musical in Singapore based on the life of the original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang.
• Angulimala - The historical action-adventure epic is based on the tale of a man who must kill 1,000 people and collect their right thumbs and wear them in a garland around his neck. For some unfathomable reason, the premise failed to move Thai filmgoers - who are normally pretty keen to see violence and gore.
• Blissfully Yours - A hit with the crowd at Cannes, the meditative arthouse film failed to move local audiences - including myself - when it returned home after a run on the festival circuit. When I heard that for five minutes it just showed a couple laying in the sun, I figured I didn't need to punish myself.
• I-San Special - Another experimental arthouse flick, this one also premiered overseas. It had a brief run in Bangkok at the Lido before returning to the shelf. This is one I managed to see and thought it was worthwhile. Rating: 3/5.
• Kun Suek (The Legend of the Warlord) - Another historical epic from director Thanit Jitnukul was another failure to duplicate on the success of Bangrajan. It's out on DVD now, though, where it might prove a bigger success. It's even been released with English subtitles - so there's nothing stopping even me from giving it a try.
• Sayew - A delightfully funny, frank look at sex obsessions and pornography, the film is set in politically turbulent 1992 Thailand and focuses on a sexually confused female college student (Phimpaporn Linutpong). By day, she tries to finish her master's thesis on romance literature. By night, she pecks out steamy stories for her uncle's soft-core porn mag. She's not really good at either. Local audiences didn't go for it, though it does have plenty of appeal. Rating: 4/5
• Fake - This teen drama received some good reviews, though few people - including myself - managed to see it. I'd be more inclined to give it a chance if the DVD release included English subtitles, but it doesn't - a stupid omission on the part of the film distributors, who could make some money overseas if they would put a little more effort into their product.
• One Night Husband - The slow-paced drama has some great performances and is stunningly photographed, but the ends don't justify the means. Maybe I missed something in the two times that I watched it, but some things seemed way too implausible. It's worth a look, but be forwarned. Rating: 3/5