Customer Reviews

Bangkok Love Story

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The cover of the DVD for this very fine film is misleading: the photograph of the two leads in a rather quiet and elegant setting is about as far from the content of the cinematic adventure as imaginable. Writer/Director Poj Amon has created a love story that is more from the underbelly of the poor section of Bangkok than it is from the expected physical beauty of that Thai city, and rather than focusing on the 'tourist view' of Thailand, he instead finds a different kind of beauty molded into a love story from a far different perspective. And it works very well.

In the world of Thai organized crime there is a star assassin - Maek ((Rattanaballang Tohssawat) - who kills 'bad people' to satisfy his bosses but cannot kill 'good people'. He is the sole support of his mother and younger brother, both of whom suffer from AIDS - the source of their infection is the abusive live-in stepfather. Maek wants to provide a good home for his little family, somewhere away from the slums of Bangkok, so that his little brother will no longer have to ply the hustler role on the streets to help support his ailing mother. Maek is assigned a 'hit' and in stalking the young lawyer he is supposed to assassinate he finds an attraction to the obviously good, married, handsome Iht (Chaiwat Thongsaeng). When the moment comes to complete his grim duty, Maek cannot kill a 'good man' and in the setup Maek himself is shot. Iht is compassionate and rescues Maek from the streets, taking him to his shelter to nurse him back to health. The two men bond and eventually submit to their passion. Yet when Maek recovers, he cannot face the truth of his feelings and separates himself from Iht. Iht's wife is suspicious about Iht's distance, stalks him, and witnesses a secret moment of passion between Maek and Iht, and the discovery turns her into a potential assassin herself. Iht is now by himself, unable to regain Maek's commitment until a series of events leads to the ultimate arrest of Maek: from the imposed separation caused by Maek's incarceration, Iht remains faithful to his love. The ending could have been triumphant (and for moments it is, emotionally), but instead Poj Amon opts for tragedy, a writer's decision that makes the film even more powerful.

The cast of actors is excellent and the chemistry between the two leads is undiluted by the forces that are meant to separate them. In the end, this is a love story between two classes of people whose discovery of a forbidden love emphasizes some universal truths. It is a well-made, beautifully photographed film (Tiwa Moeithaisong is the gifted cinematographer) that deserves a wider audience. Grady Harp, August 08

The kind of story that we don't usually see everyday: An assassin hired to kill someone falls in love with his target and struggles against this love because for him this is wrong. And his victim in return not only saves him but fights against everything and everyone for this love. Although sometimes too melodramatic, on the verge of exageration, this movie is quite beautiful and the love scenes are superb. The main actors are also great in this role and quite convincing. Beautiful scenes of Bangkok sunsets and night skies.Highly recommendable!

This brilliant movie ran 110 minutes at the London LGBT Film Festival. IMDB.com lists the runtime as 110 minutes. But both the Region 1 and Region 2 DVDs released by TLA state 90 minutes as the runtime. OK. Where'd the missing 20 minutes go? Is TLA offering the censored version that so frustrated moviegoers in Singapore? Demand an explanation from TLA before parting with your hard-earned cash...
UPDATE! UPDATE!
Like the "Fan of the Avengers etc" who has commented here, I wrote to TLA Marketing and in a very prompt and polite reply TLA did confirm that the DVD contains the deleted scenes that the director chose to excise for reasons of storytelling focus.

Per the comments here, I wrote to TLA asking about the running time, and here is their reply:

"The film was edited down to 90 minutes with the director's approval to tighten the structure of the film. The edited scenes will be included as extras in the DVD release for both the US and the UK."

It's a nice idea - an assassin and his intended victim become allies, and, in hiding, unexpectedly find love together. Maek (played by Rattanaballang Tohssawat) is the assassin capable only of killing the bad guys. Iht (Chaiwat Thongsaeng) is his target, the lawyer a crime gang wants murdered.

The film is visually stunning, as is Chaiwat Thongsaeng as Iht. I could watch him watching paint dry all day long and not get bored. But as for the plot... Oh dear.

I desperately wanted to like this film. There was so much potential; the idea itself is a bit different - a gay version of Asian action flicks. But the melodrama puts Brazilian telenovellas to shame. It isn't enough that Maek's brother is a hustler who happily passes on the AIDS given to him by his paedophile stepfather, the mother is also infected, and eventually hangs herself. Oh and so does the brother, after a slow, lingering decline into AIDS hell. It isn't enough that Maek gets locked up for most of his life; when he finally gets out, he's gunned down. That's after Iht, who's been blinded by the widow of one of Maek's victims, has waited a lifetime for him. And because it's in a rainstorm, poor blind Iht doesn't realise Maek's been shot dead, and carries on talking about how much he loves Maek, and how Maek will be his new eyes from now on. Then a Hummer runs over both of them. (No, not really, but it might as well have done.)


The first half of the film, particularly the scenes in which Maek and Iht slowly fall in love - and lust, culminating in a steamy rooftop love scene - is promising. But it goes downhill rapidly, plummets of a cliff and is blown to smithereens as one tragedy tops another. And I like a it of tragedy me, but there's such a thing as overkill.


The one miracle is that I didn't try and jump off the nearest viaduct after this little epic.

"Bangkok Love Story" (Thailand, 2007) tells the unusual and emotional story of the growing relationship between two street-smart macho young men running from gangsters in that steamy, dark city.

Maek (referred to in subtitles as "Cloud") has become a hired killer to help support himself, his younger brother and mother, all three of whom are infected with HIV from his stepfather. He justifies his mission as only killing "bad" people, and crosses the boss when he refuses to execute a handsome young man, Iht ("Stone"), who had gotten too close to exposing one gangster's operation. Cloud gets shot during the getaway, and Stone nurses him back to health, while they hide in exile in the inner city. Helping Cloud with his bath one day leads to the duo getting carried away, and Cloud can't deal with his feelings for Stone, banishing him from his life. Most of the rest of the film involves Stone's attempts at reconciliation, as well as greater detail about Cloud's family, who suffer persecution due to their illness.

A beautifully photographed and capably-acted film, which tells a simple story but tells it wonderfully and with great emotion (perhaps a bit too much for some critical viewers). Won a couple of international film competitions. Dialogue in Thai with English subtitles, very easy to follow. DVD artwork is a bit misleading, as it shows the duo posing on a fancy, expensive sofa, while the entire film has them living in near squalor. DVD extras include several deleted scenes, which provide some additional background into the characters. Not rated, but would be a mild R due to violence, gay content and simulated sex; there is no complete nudity. I give the film four spicy stars out of five.

This is one of the best love stories I have seen. The interplay between the two leads is great. Their love for each other shows so well even in tragic circumstances. Very handsome men and a great story makes it a good watch, just have the kleenex ready.

Maek is an assassin for hire who kidnaps Iht, a married police informant. After taking Iht to his bosses, however, Maek learns that Iht is an innocent bystander and refuses to execute him, saying he does not kill innocent people. In the resulting fight, Maek is shot and escapes with the help of Iht. The two men hide out together and Iht nurses Maek back to health.

We gradually learn Maek's backstory, and discover he kills to earn money to care for his brother and his dying mother. As Iht and Maek grow closer, a romance develops between them. Maek must struggle with his own feelings of shame and memories of his abusive father as their enemies close in on the two men and their relationship is discovered.

Bangkok Love Story is very well acted and beautifully filmed. The two leads are attractive and likable and deliver very good performances. Rattanaballang Tohssawat is a standout as the tortured Maek. Some of the plot twists stretched the boundaries of believability for me, especially at the end, and prevent me giving it five stars. On the whole, this is a very beautiful and moving film. Highly recommended.

I rented this movie over the weekend from a local Blockbuster. The cover grabbed my attention. While I agree that the cover art is misleading, this video was amazing. The story was awesome. But it was the cinematography that was amazing. The scenes are shot just as good as anything hollywood puts out. The background and setting really took my breath away. I loved the actors. There were many scenes I liked but that the very last scene is outstanding. I can not say how much I enjoyed this film. Good actors, good story, great directing and video work.

The trailer for this movie was beautiful. But the movie left me wanting. To me, it was unrealistic and just didn't flow right. The scenes, as beautiful as they are, were too drawn out, and somewhat ackward. This had such potential, but fell short. :(