2025 Thai Watch Challenge

Starting off with a favourite discovery from last year. It takes its time to wander around the Northern landscape with no grand plot, just two people becoming friends and figuring their relationship out.

Oh, and ghosts. Because Thailand :)

I think I'm inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt regarding the many abbreviations it uses to tell this story in twelve hours because, in the end, it's very much a love story to history, culture, dance, a few of those whose names have survived and the many whose didn't.

Excellent documentary, told in a slice of life manner, about the consequences suffered by Karen people in Klity, Kanchanaburi 15 years on from lead contamination of the river they depend on for food and livelihoods. Beautifully filmed, gentle but powerful, well worth seeking out.

Sparse art film, more experience than narrative. Young theatre actors wandering through Kanchanaburi, hanging out near a lake and doing theatre things.
Maybe it was the black & white but it's spareness stripped it of a sense of place for me.

The familiar paradigm of a Thai ghost story where the first half explores the world they've created before it goes into poignancy. The poignancy is well done (for the most part) but the comedy world was loud and often stressful. Perfect for everyone except me.

As gentle as On Sale is loud. Deeper in its emotions too.

A "continuation" of sorts of the 1999 Nang Nak, except it's about the kid. The idea and the last ten minutes or so are good. The rest isn't. Lazy jokes dependent on cheap stereotypes. The emotions of the end deserve a better framing.

One of those Thai series which doesn't sit neatly in any genre but dances between several. Lakorn plot, series pacing, thriller-esque moments, serious issues at its core and a brush of comedy over it all. Casting was perfect for the central roles.

Brevity and familiarity weakened the poignancy and there were times the writing felt like it didn't quite know how to get where it was going in the time allotted (so likely editing). Jamie's character was difficult to shine in. The dual facets of Singto's gave him more to work with.

The first eight episodes are my favourite of the Channel 3 lakorns I've seen. Full of tropes but underpinned by strong statements on sexism, prejudice (Chinese against Thai, Thai against Chinese), privilege and how these affect people's lives. Excellent pacing.
And then it changes to become a too many wives revenge. Other than the abruptness of a transition, it was well enough done for that. But the balance was lost, making for a difficult change before it shifted again into a tale of the costs of revenge and a wealthy dysfunctional family dysfunctioning itself. In the end, the story works.