New DVD titles

A handful of new Thai films have been released on DVD and are worth noting because they have English subtitles, which is sadly not yet the norm for Thai releases. Among the new titles are:

• Last Life in the Universe: The newest film by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Monrak Transistor) stars Japan's Tadanobu Asano as a obessive compulsive yakuza hiding out in Bangkok. It's really a remarkable film and the DVD is most impressive, with a great-looking widescreen format and transfer. Plus, it has the original soundtrack (a mix of Japanese, English and Thai and subtitles).
• One Night Husband: This smouldering drama is the feature film debut by indie director Pimpaka Towira and features some great performances by Monrak Transistor's Siriyakorn Pukkavesh and singer-model-actress Nicole Theriault, plus some great photography that has been transferred nicely to widescreen format.
• Province 77: A dramatization of life in LA's Thai Town. The soundtrack, which is a mix of Thai and gangsta English, is intact, along with subtitles and quite a few extra features, including a music video.

There are quite a few mail-order outfits that handle these DVD's, but I've had good luck from ThaiNetCity.