The sight of a sobbing man

Here's the review of The Letter by Kong Rithdee of the Bangkok Post (page 6, Friday, June 25, 2004):

Some say the sight of a sobbing man is the most beautiful thing ever captured in a movie. I see how melting masculinity could trigger such fascination but I'd still root for the total heart-crunching effect of seeing a beautiful woman cry her eyes out.
Perhaps that's the best thing in The Letter, a Thai remake of a Korean weepie that sets out with inexorable determination to unlock the audience's floodgate of tears.

Anne Thongprasom -- showing why she's one of the best actresses around -- plays a Bangkok computer programmer who marries a Chiang Mai botanist (Attaporn Teemakorn) only to find her nuptial bliss snatched away forever by the machinations of cruel fate.

It's an effective melodrama, a movie of well-executed cliches and retro sensibilities. But only Anne's performance -- especially her ability to switch on a fountain of tears -- conceals the insubstantial nature of the film's build-up and its banal, I-love-you-forever kind of dialogue. Don't forget to bring a handkerchief. Or better still, a towel.

More information:

• A tribute to Duangkamol Limcharoen