Mah nakorn

I saw this film at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. I'd heard some buzz around this film, that it was sort of a Thai Amelie. In fact, it's Amelie cranked up to 11. Which is entirely too much. This film is absolutely overstuffed with whimsy. A narrator tells us the story of country boy Pod, who comes to Bangkok to find work and falls in love with Jin. Along the way, he loses and then finds his finger, drives around a chainsmoking talking teddy-bear as well as a man who licks everything, and shares his house with a gecko that has the face of his dead grandmother. If that's not enough, the object of his desire is an obsessive neat freak who carries around a book written in Italian that she can't read. A case of mistaken identity sends her off on an environmental crusade that results in her accumulating a mountain (literally, a mountain) of plastic water bottles. Will this pair find love in the end? Well, by the end, I didn't care that much.

The problem was that the visual tricks and whimsy overwhelm the characters, who end up being nothing more than a collection of quirks. The constant voice-over also never really lets the characters tell their own stories, and the romance never feels believable.

Sasanatieng is obviously a director of huge talent, and there are quite a few great sight gags and some really original visuals. But there's just far too much of it. It's like eating a whole chocolate cake at one sitting. If he could tone down the trickery a bit, and find a story with real characters, he could one day make a really outstanding film. This isn't it yet, but I hope he does it.

In the first scene, we noticed that the director must be a Jean Pierre Jeunet fan. This is not bad. I really appreciate that but there are too much coincidences and resources already seen on Amélie. It's very interesting the way the colors are used. The descriptions of the protagonists is very similar to Jeunet most popular film. It seems to me a bit long in duration but there are some scenes very laughing and gallant. Maybe this young director could find a more consistent script for his next film and not to exaggerate with some resources that are, if so much used, boring. Despite the things I described, I really enjoyed the film. I laugh in several scenes and applaud when the film was finished.

It's soufflé meets tom yum. The comparisons are inevitable but while Wisit Sasanatieng's "Citizen Dog" ("Mah Nakorn") does seem to have been heavily influenced by Jean-Pierre Jeunet's sleeper "Amelie", this surrealistically delightful Thai comedy has enough merits of its own to set it apart from its French counterpart.

Screened as part of the International Film Competition of this year's Cinemanila Film Festival, "Citizen Dog" tells the story of Pod (Mahasamut Boonyaruk), a young country man who moves to Bangkok and ends up working on a sardine cannery. After a freak accident where he loses (and eventually regains) one of his fingers, he quits his job and becomes a security guard for another company where he meets and falls in love with Jin (Saengthong Gate-Uthong), a company maid who's obsessed with romance stories in magazines, and an enigmatic white book written in words no one seems to understand.

And what ensues is a movie that, for the most part, knows its essential qualities and plays up to its charming oddity and energetic mood that should suit well to the viewer who knows what s/he's in for. The film's quirky nature can be overbearing at times what with Sasanatieng's script that tends to be inconsistent in some parts. But with such a cheery nature that's eager to please, the end result is nevertheless a fulfilling enchantment. The cinematography and production design introduces Bangkok not as the coarse metropolis I was acquainted with during my stay there earlier this year, but rather a city of eccentric fantasy that lends a euphoric quality to the analogous world it presents. The witty employment of various cinematic tricks and giddy soundtrack keep the tone light.

While most of the speaking parts belong to Pen-Ek Ratanaruang as the film's narrator, Boonyaruk effortlessly portrays the lead character's mix of audacity and romanticism. Gate-Uthong ably compliments that with her character's impassive feeling towards Pod. Their characters' fate is as obvious as the film's frivolous traits but you can't help but feel for them anyway.

Then again, "Citizen Dog" isn't for everyone. You have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy its quirkiness and be able to laugh with it. As the film tells us, when you stop looking, the thing you're looking for will find you. Ditto. Let the film do its thing and its charm will sneak its way inside you.

In a world of derivative, colorless copycats, this was breath of fresh air. It was a small masterpiece in my view. Simultaneously funny, strange, charming, and blissfully shocking at times.

From the very first frame I was thoroughly entertained, and the absurdity was refreshing and often wildly hilarious in it's originality.

It has an underlying sentimentality which went on a little bit long - otherwise I would have given this fantastic show a 10! Most shocking to me here however, was the fact that other comments about the film in this section show how far this went over some people's heads- and that they just didn't get it.

This film is a jewel - I want to buy it when it comes out on DVD - and the music is catchy and hilarious.

Q: How many plastic water bottles are consumed in the USA daily? A: Approx. 2 millions !

Seriously, this movie has some engaging elements but is light-hearted fare, perfect for a day of nice weather but you are still needing your cinematic fix! When it was finished I felt refreshed and energized. There isn't really anything to spoil but I'll tread lightly nonetheless.

Colors abound, there is a spunky score, some REAL jokes but thoroughly adult. Overly-sentimental this film IS NOT. Its honest and doesn't get preachy either. Perhaps its just that its a foreign film's slightly different style, but this American was smiling the whole time.

Vote: 7