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Jan Dara 2012


WorldFun

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"Let me first say that if you enjoy feeling like an ounce of that thing you tell the waiter to throw into your doggy bag when you leave the restaurant, then you should see this movie. It’s technically very proficient and the film has a polished, ethereal look that defies its Thailand background. Having seen my share of Thai films with horrific aesthetics (a mainstay of the cheaply-produced and amateurishly-acted and directed Thai films), I can safely say that Jan Dara’s aesthetics are miles beyond what I’ve seen so far. The film looks very good.

 

"But is it good as a movie? No, not really. The acting is sometimes too stilted and rings untrue. Many of the cast speaks their lines like they’re reading from a cue card, without any conviction or personality, an element of the film you’ll immediately notice if you can speak the language. Non-Thai speakers won’t have a clue. The film is also prone to overwrought melodrama that just looks and feels artificial. There’s the “Look, here’s my evil stare because I’m evil, see?†and “I know you’re evil, but I’ll take it or this movie will be over too quickly†situations that revolves around the Kaew character. The movie shifts between time periods, with an elderly Jan Dara narrating through the years. The adult Jan Dara is very nicely performed by the actor, but the child Jan Dara, like the child Kaew, are too fake, and their performance screams of too much coaching."

 

There are also some good performances that need mention. Christy Chung plays Boonlueang, Luang’s mistress who moves into the house, and begins an affair with Jan. Chung’s sultry Boonlueang is hard to figure out, and her subtle, but highly erotic, performance is easily the best in the entire movie. The other exception is Wipawee Charoenpura as the kindly Aunt Waad, whose patience and kindness is reminiscent of Mother Theresa. (And in fact her character later becomes a nun, and is, not surprisingly, the only character in the entire movie that is “saved†in any manner.)

 

"Jan Dara is based on a novel by Utsana Phleungtham, who must have been stoned to death or banned from Thailand, because I’m prone to believe that such a story would still be too controversial for the Thailand of today. Director Nimibutr co-wrote the screenplay with Sirapak Paoboonkerd, and the duo seems determined to make the Ultimate Serious Depressing Arthouse film of all time come hell or high water. Not having read the novel, I don’t know if the story is actually so infused with tiresome sex, rampant lesbianism, incest (the insinuated and actually shown kinds), and enough dysfunction to keep an army of psychiatrist busy for centuries.

 

"Then again, Jan Dara is undeniably the best looking Thailand film I’ve seen ever, and if just for that accomplishment alone, it bears a look. But be warn — have a copy of Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back ready to play immediately after watching this movie, because once you’ve sloshed through the misery that is Jan Dara’s story, you’ll need something to remind you life is actually worth living. Even if Jan Dara convinces you it’s better to run into the wall until you crack your skull open and “get it over with.â€

 

 

 

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