Review: Song of Chao Phraya (Nong mia)

• Directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol
• Starring Chatchai Plengpanich, Passorn Boonyakiart, Pattamawan Kaomoolkadee
• Released in 1990; DVD released by Mangpong (out of print)
• Rating: 4/5

Never get off the boat.

That's the message of this excellent drama by MC Chatrichalerm Yukol about life on Thailand's main river, about a family on a sand barge. The wife, Prang (Passorn Boonyakiart), bored of the crying kid and the aimless life of floating the river, gets off the boat in Bangkok. A shifty taxi driver takes her to a beauty parlor. There, another woman sizes her up as fresh meat. She promises to make her a star.

Meanwhile, back on the barge, the husband, Sang (Chatchai Plengpanich), is obsessed with finding Prang. He leaves his 15-year-old sister-in-law, the plucky little Tubtim (Pattamawan Kaomoolkadee), to care for the kid and manage the barge.

Sang hooks up with the same no-good taxi driver, who takes him for a ride. They find the beauty parlor. This offers some leads that must be checked out. The helpful taxi man offers to drive Sang to check out the bars of Patpong and a massage and bath parlour, all paid for by Sang.

What happens is typically soul crushing - another depiction of lower-class folks who have higher aspirations but cannot easily break the ceiling to the next level without getting caught up in vice.

What I liked about this is it is handled with tact and realism, without the usual melodrama and overacting.

This was a remake of a 1978 film, also directed by Prince Chatri, called Sister in Law.

The DVD of this had fair picture quality, which conveyed the beauty captured by the cinematography. The only quibble I have is with the subtitles, which are burned in and are white, making them hard to read about 30 percent of the time.