Khid thueng withaya

This intriguing question lies at the heart of The Teacher's Diary (Khid thueng withaya), a 2014 Thai romance drama directed by Nithiwat Tharathorn. Starring Bie Sukrit Wisetkaew and Ploy Chermarn Boonyasak, the film beautifully weaves romance, nostalgia, and the spirit of teaching into an emotional journey. Selected as Thailand's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, this movie has captured the hearts of many.

The story follows Song, a former wrestler turned teacher who is assigned to a remote floating school in a rural Thai province. Isolated from the outside world, he struggles with loneliness until he discovers a diary left behind by the previous teacher, Ann. As he reads about her experiences, challenges, and emotions, he begins to feel a deep connection with her, despite never having met her in person.

As time passes, Song writes his thoughts in the diary, sharing his experiences and emotions as if conversing with Ann. Later, Ann returns to the school and finds her old diary, now filled with Song's entries. As she reads through them, she begins to develop a longing for this man she has never met. The film builds tension around whether these two teachers, connected by words and shared experiences, will ever meet and what will happen when they do.

The film presents a unique and heartwarming concept: falling in love through written words. While the storyline follows a familiar romantic structure, the diary serves as a refreshing narrative tool, allowing emotions to build naturally. The balance between romance, humor, and drama makes the film engaging, though some may find the storyline a bit predictable. Ploy Chermarn's performance as Ann is convincing, showing a warm and determined character who is passionate about teaching. Bie Sukrit, in his first major film role, does an admirable job portraying Song's transformation from an unsure teacher to a man deeply connected to his work and emotions. However, their chemistry feels slightly off due to their lack of direct interactions.

Interestingly, Weir Sukollawat, who plays Ann's ex-boyfriend, adds another layer of complexity to the love triangle. His presence occasionally overshadows Song, emphasizing the contrast between Ann's past and present emotional struggles. The film carefully balances these dynamics, ensuring that each character's role in the story remains meaningful without disrupting the central romance. The director skillfully uses the floating school setting to enhance the film's themes of isolation, nostalgia, and connection. The cinematography is stunning, capturing the beauty of Thailand's rural landscapes. Long takes, especially in emotional scenes, add depth, though some sequences towards the end feel drawn out.

The film's soundtrack is well-chosen, with soft, nostalgic tunes that complement the mood perfectly. Background music enhances key moments, creating an emotional resonance with the audience. Beyond romance, the film subtly highlights the dedication of rural teachers, the struggles of education in remote areas, and the power of human connection despite physical distance. While it does not deeply critique Thailand's education system, it effectively highlights the challenges teachers face such as isolation, limited resources, and the impact of their work on students' lives encouraging viewers to reflect on the significance of education in rural communities.

The Teacher's Diary makes us reflect on how modern technology has changed the way we connect with others. In an era of instant communication, the film reminds us of the beauty of waiting, longing, and cherishing simple yet profound connections. While it may not be as intense as classic romantic dramas like Il Mare, it carries its charm with lighthearted warmth and heartfelt storytelling.

For fans of GTH films, this movie delivers the signature feel-good experience, but those who prefer realistic, less idealized romances may find it overly sentimental. Overall, The Teacher's Diary is a touching, beautifully shot film that will resonate with those who appreciate nostalgic, slow-burning love stories.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars - A must-watch for romance lovers!

This movie underlines how much hollyweird sucks. The story, cinematography, acting, casting, script, everything, perfectly balanced, and charts a path into the deepest part of your heart to remind you of the power of love. The purity of the film is what I really liked, and our two protagonists look good, and well matched for each other. For the soulless and desensitized of the world, destroyed by the evil moral cancer of the united states and western countries, your scarred conscience cannot be reached by this movie. For all I know, that is like 90% of the world's population, so tormented they are by their evil intentions and base desires, culturally and spiritually impotent. But if you feel this movie, and feel its message, and are uplifted by it, be thankful. That means the dark lords of the evil western empire have been unsuccessful at destroying your soul, and you just might make it into heaven :) I am so grateful for the people behind this kind of work. Surely, they are the children of God.

This movie has the best elements for a feel good movie. The plot is around two teachers (song&ann) who gets appointed on an isolated house boat school. Ann was the former teacher of that school and and song gets her diary which brings a lot of change in him and he also leaves his thoughts in the diary. This movie is a smooth sailing movie that doesn't get you bored at any point.

The Teacher's Diary was a pleasant surprise. Heartwarming, lighthearted, meaningful, sweet and funny, The Teacher's Diary has moments that feel earnest, sincere and touches your heart. The tightly-scripted story is simple: Two strangers who has never met before and spend the entirety of the film apart, but walked the same path - teaching rural kids in a remote floating houseboat school with no electricity, phone service or Internet. But a personal diary written by Ann, was discovered by Song and this connects them together.

The film is filled with a handful of jokes that provides a few laughters here and there. The editing was done well such that the alternating scenes of Ann and Song are presented coherently in the film. It was evenly paced and the story flows nicely as well. Not to mention, the widescreen cinematography of the lake location is simply stunning.

As with many romance comedies, the film won't work without its charming and likable leads. Of the two teachers, Ann, the female lead, is the better one - smarter, braver, skilled among the two, capable of adapting her life at the houseboat school with the kids. On the other hand, Song, the male lead, breaks his arm as soon as he reaches the school and struggling to teach the kids algebra maths (because he sucks at maths). Although they are different, they share the same ideals towards teaching the young. It's their passion and dedication towards teaching that brings them together as one. Their relationship troubles due to the nature of their jobs were well presented. All the kids are lively and likable as well.

Song's infatuation and admiration for Ann was sincere and it doesn't feel creepy at all. We can see that Song was genuinely fascinated by Ann's dedication towards teaching, through her personal thoughts and frustrations while teaching at the school. After Song leaves and Ann resumes her teaching at the school, she was touched that her dedication inspires others and starts to admire Song after hearing things about him from the kids and his writings in her diary. The film never overdoes the melodrama and making it overly sentimental.

Romance aside, the film touched on the true meaning of education. It highlights the problems in today's teaching practices. Education shouldn't be just for the sake of grades or marks, but for the sake of knowledge and understand the things around you.

Overall, it's the best romantic drama comedy I've seen this year. Rest assured, this film will leave you a big smile on your face the moment it ends. Very highly recommended. Two Thumbs up!

http://yjcool.blogspot.com/2014/08/movie-review-teachers-diary.html

Saw the film at the Thai film festival and absolutely loved it. The story telling was slightly messy at the beginning but the story is romantic and sweet and the location chosen was very authentic. Very moving film!