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“An International Buffet of Love Stories: A Review of 4 Romances

  By Sorradithep Supachanya / 2 January 2009
   
 

In response to its rival studio GTH’s 4Bia released earlier this year, Sahamongkol’s 4 Romances offers a similar collection of four separate short stories by four of the studio’s most renowned directors: Chukiat Sakweerakul (13 Beloved, The Love of Siam), Prachya Pinkaew (Ong Bak, Tom-Yum-Goong), Bandit Thongdee (Mercury Man), and Rashane Limtrakul (Romantic Blue). With each director given creative freedom on a common theme of love, the result is a film as coherent as an international buffet. But that may be a good thing for its audience, who can simply skip the parts they dislike and cherish the ones they enjoy.

 

 

“Kiss,” the first short, tells a simple teenage rivalry story in a style that perfectly matches its plot. The narration is fast-paced and cuts right to the chase where the two leads box it out for a girl’s kiss. The background music is dynamic and adds to the teenage angst-ridden atmosphere. And the cinematography is full of bright colors and lopsided camera angles in reminiscence of director Rashane’s work in Bangkok Loco. Mario Maurer (from The Love of Siam), Thailand’s current hottest young star, again proves he has acting chops in addition to his good looks.

 

 

“Shy,” the second short, struggles to provide a convincing reason for the embarrassment (intentionally mistranslated into English as shy) that has driven the boy from the girl before their chance re-encounter in the movie. But their brief rendezvous is sufficiently sweet and redemptive, if not a tad bit too clich? (it’s not you, it’s me) and too formulaic (running into ex-boyfriend on a deserted island, confessing true feeling after alcohol hits the system).

 

 

“Sweet,” the third short, explores the issue of time. Versatile television actor Shahkrit Yamnarm stars as a workaholic architect who leaves for a business trip on his wife’s leap-year February 29th birthday despite her strong protest. A shock sends her into a strange psychological condition which she lives her life mentally backward. Suddenly, he can spend all his time together with her, but they are always in separate timeframes. The story may move too fast for its own good and the makeup may look funny especially on such young actors. But the plot cleverly deals with the importance of seizing the moment; after all, one day you may realize that time is more limited than you think. Out of the four shorts, this one offers the strongest “call to action” for many couples in love.

 

 

“Dream,” the last and longest short, is surreal, experimental, and self-indulgent. The story deals with a pre-teen’s apprehension of a possible first boyfriend, and in doing so combines nostalgic romance with animation, musical, comedy, and live-action adaptation of Japanese comic-book adventures. The plot suffers serious incongruence but it serves as a platform to showcase director Chukiat’s talent as a master of any film genre.

In fact, the same can be said of the four directors and the entire cast. 4 Romances may be just an experimental lab, or a nice intermission to keep the fans satisfied while waiting for their next projects—similar to what The Tales of Beedle the Bard is to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. 4 Romances may not a masterpiece but it surely is an entertaining diversion from the wait.

   
   

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