This Blog is an outlet for the random thoughts of an amateur opinionator.
What's an opinionator?
An opinionator is somebody who has power without responsibility, and the ability to spout off on any subject without worrying too much about the consequences of what comes out of the mouth. All you need is an opinion and the opportunity to voice it.
TV is full of professional opinionators. The internet gives the amateur his chance.
> truly the Love of siaM
Author: aLmich
Since the guy who promised me a copy of The Love of Siam has not responded yet, I decided to patiently watch it over YouTube. Thanks to you Mr. YouTube, I get to watch videos that are hard to find or those that I have missed on television. Thanks to you whoever you are.
Through the ages of mankind, the topic of LOVE is always been a favorite preference of any piece or work of art! It’s because LOVE is one of the foundation why we keep breathing and living in this world full of surprises. No matter what medium it is conveyed, the theme of love always moved people. It’s powerful and it’s domineering.
Brilliantly conceived, The Love of Siam is a very different film in many respects. Most notably different is the length. At two and a half hours, it’s almost twice as long as most films in cinemas these days. I just don’t know why I missed this on cinemas. I don’t even know where it was shown. Hmmm…
There’s nothing wrong with a long film, as long as it’s something worth looking at, and The Love of Siam is most certainly that. The length means that most of the characters in this contemporary Bangkok drama are well developed, which is something else that sets this film apart from others.
Equal parts family drama and teen romance, the aspect that has people talking is a gay love story, albeit a squeaky clean one, full of the wild-eyed innocence of teenage puppy love. It just happens these pups are boys.
And, with a Catholic family at its centre, The Love of Siam is probably the first Thai Christmas movie, and was actually filmed nearly a year ago, to capture the actual lights and sounds of the festive season around Siam Square. Agnes and I both agreed that maybe the reason why they chose Catholic as the center of the Religion was because Buddhism [as Thailand is known for] won’t allow such be shown.
The tender friendship of the two boys, Tong and Mew, is established in a lengthy prologue. Tragedy strikes the family of Tong, when his older sister [Tang] disappears while on a northern trek. The lost drives a wedge between Tong’s mother and father, as the father turns to alcohol to drown his grief. Tong and his family then move away, leaving Tong’s friend, the musically gifted Mew, all alone.
Sparks fly when the boys are reunited in their university years, while hanging around in Siam Square. Mew [Witwisit Hirunwongkul] is the singer and songwriter for an up-and-coming pop band, and Tong [Mario Maurer] is dating a pretty girl named Donut, whom he’s not really interested in.
Their reconnection takes on even more meaning when Mew’s band is assigned a manager, June. June is a dead ringer for the long-lost sister Tang. Maybe she can draw Tong’s dad out of his drunken stupor? This bit of soap opera contrivance is handled so straightforwardly and beautifully, with subtle comic touches, that it seems natural.
Mew, meanwhile is struggling to write new songs, until he digs into his heart and comes up with a hit that is inspired by feelings for Tong that have been nurtured since boyhood.
Everyone it seems is rooting for these two boys to smooch and snuggle – the press preview audience was enthusiastically supportive. But Tong’s mum is devastated, wondering what she did to deserve the fate of a missing daughter, an alcoholic husband and now, a gay son.
The girls have less prominent roles than the film posters might lead audiences to believe. But a neighbour girl, Ling, is more central than the haughty Donut. Ling has a crush on Mew, helps Tong sort out his confused feelings.
The Love of Siam comes to a heartfelt and poignant conclusion on Christmas Eve, when Mew’s band is playing a concert in the Siam Centre courtyard. The gift, though, is one of heartache and tears.
It is simply a gay teen romance of two teenage boys but the film’s story revolves around the value of friendship, loving and being loved, family’s quest for unity of a loss member, separation and loneliness, identity crisis amidst affection, obedience of a son and protection of a mother, camaraderie and understanding of friends, musical talent and how gifted the young of today, infatuations and unrequited admirations as part of teen life, the many diversities of emotions, and of course, the right to choose the kind of sexual preference you want to live.
I love the way they handled and tackled the issue. I can say that most of US will be able to relate. The hardships, the dilemma, cruelty, sacrifice, fear, and hatred we had to face just to be able to survive in this society. The fact that we had to endure all those sufferings while everybody can just grow normally without the same hassles. It’s a very encouraging movie. A mind opener that is.
