Fantasia Roundup! 13 Beloved!

Ah, the end has come for my time in Fantasia and I'm surrounded by packed suitcases here in my hotel room but before checking out, word on Thailand's 13 Beloved:

It's good. Really, really good.

A film that defies easy categorization thanks to the way it begins by dipping into the black-comedy pool then gradually indulges those dark tendencies more and more through its running time, it's too bleak and violent by far to be considered a straight comedy, yet too light to be taken as a horror or action picture. What it is is one bitingly on-the-mark satire of media culture fused with a dissection of just how close the hidden heart of darkness is to the surface of pretty much anybody.

We follow one character throughout, a meek salaryman struggling at work thanks to the sharkish tendencies of another worker in his offices who is poaching his best leads and clients, a situation that quickly leads to our hero being fired for not producing well enough. Out of work, deep in debt and desperate he is surprised b a phone call that tells him he is participating in a game show and that if he can complete thirteen tasks he will receive a cash prize of one hundred million baht. Task one: kill a fly. Task two: eat the fly. Task three: well, telling you wouldn't be fair, now would it? the point is that the tasks start small and quickly escalate, every step taking him a little further until there is really no turning back: he must complete the course.

Probably the smartest film aimed at Thai multiplexes over the last couple of years, 13 Beloved is a pitch perfect mix of pop culture mass appeal with deeper thought and meaning, all of it tied together by the strong performance of the lead -- the same actor who starred in Bangkok Loco, completely unrecognizable here -- and stellar work by the director. The Weinsteins have bought this up for remake -- which it is ripe for -- and have no real plans for the original, so keep an eye on the import market. It's a good one ...

And now 'tis time to introduce Kiltro and then back to Toronto ...