Fan chan (2003)

Directors:

Vitcha Gojiew
Songyos Sugmakanan

Release Date:

2003 (Thailand)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Jeab hears that his childhood sweetheart Noi-Naa is to be married, so he makes the trip back home to his provincial village...

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Charlie Trairat	...	Jeab
Focus Jirakul	...	Noi-Naa
Charwin Jitsomboon	...	Jeab as adult
Wongsakorn Rassamitat	...	Jeab's father
Arnudsara Jantarangsri	...	Jeab's mother
Nipawan Taveepornsawan	...	Noi-Naa's mother
Prem Tinsulanonda	...	Himself (on television)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aphichan Chaleumchainuwong	...	Dtee
Preecha Chanapai	...	Noi-Naa's father
Anyarit Pitakkul	...	Boy
Yok Teeranitayatarn	...	Manoj
Chaleumpol Tikumpornteerawong	...	Jack
Thana Vichayasuranan	...	Prik

Also Known As:

My Girl (Singapore: English title)

Runtime:

Thailand:110 min

Country:

Thailand

Language:

Thai

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Trivia:

The 6 writers/directors are university friends.

Deserves an American Audience

This Thai comedic drama deserves American distribution, at least on the independent film circuit. The young cast, and team of directors and producers who all worked on this film, deserve applause for making such a tender and nostalgic look at youth and growing up.

In exploring these universal themes, which have been portrayed by many other movies in the past, this film makes a mature and inquisitive portrait into a child's point of view of growing up within a particular rural family community and interacting with the adults, parents, and childhood peers of that surrounding neighborhood group. Upon viewing the film, many audience members will probably fondly remember how growing up, as portrayed in the film, was so tentative, yet joyful and at other times sad and disappointing. This is the gritty reality of life that rings so true for all of us, who have grown up, and is so boldly explored in this courageous film.

The fact that the subject matter and themes dealt with by the film are notoriously taboo in Thai society makes this film even more of a cinematic celebration, particularly by members of the Thai community. And don't be surprised if the film forces you to cry at a couple of points in the film, as it makes its emotional impact in subtle and realistic ways.

To be commended for their acting portrayals are the young boy and young girl leads, who play Jeab and Noi-Naa respectively, as well as the standout performance by the enterprising bully, who I believe was called Jack in the film. The rest of the cast also give quite credible performances of their characters. Overall grade: A-.