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 ...