We were expecting to see the usual zany rom-com from Thailand, but we were totally surprised by its honesty and relevance in these present times.
The story couldn't be simpler... Yoon (Sunny Suwanmethanont) is the busiest 30-year-old freelance graphic designer and retoucher in Thailand. After staying up working for 5 days straight, strange rashes start to appear on Yoon's body. Yoon eventually relents and brings himself to a public hospital. There, he meets "Doctor Imm" (Davika Hoorne) and his life is changed forever.
Did I say it isn't a rom-com? It isn't, not in the strictest sense. However all the publicity and trailer seemed to suggest it is. What the movie does amazingly well is that it plays the game of "will they or will they not" brilliantly.
The movie is quiet, meditative and contemplative. It insightfully studies Yoon, a workaholic and what makes him tick. It is the same old narrative arc done a thousand times where a character loses sight of what is most important in his life, but thankfully it is never cliché and the director inserts levity in an otherwise dull subject. It also never engages you in a top-down approach and approach the subject in quite an original matter. I like some of the interesting scenes. For instance Yoon is so into his work that even during his best friend's father funeral he is searching for a wifi signal to do his work. Some of the more subtle scenes also moved me a lot like how in the beginning he was living from assignment to assignment, and later he was living from medical appointment to medical appointment.
The movie felt sluggish in the middle act but Suwanmethanont's nondescript facial expression is a delight to watch and his engaging performance smooths out the rough edges. His character is always mild-mannered but yet very captivating. We were willing him to do something with regard to Dr Imm and for him to slow down to smell the roses. How the movie does this in a way without the usual platitudes is a refreshing wonder.
