I'll just do this quickly so that this will actually be done. This is sort of long and that's why I don't want to do this in Chinese because it'll take me forever.........
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I've heard about Hi-So for a while because I've been keeping track of the male lead Ananda Everingham. But I never really know what the movie's about. The trailer of this movie can't be found on Youtube either.
The film is not as good as I thought. I already knew the main theme is about someone who constantly feels being out of place because of their cultural background. Despite this caveat in the booklet, I still don't like it. Some parts were a bit boring (very much because I was tired...). To me, the script is not completely convincing.
The story is divided into 2 parts (ie. the 2 girlfriends). I found the 1st girlfirend quite unconvincing. Because from what I know (which is very limited), most foreigners are quite good at being alone and won't get annoyed because of boredom so easily. Things got emotional when the tension was not built up successfully. There's nothing else that should upset the girl that much beside being bored.
The 2nd part of the story is better. The 2nd girlfriend is more convincing because the way she behaves is closer to what we would see in daily life.
I think the director failed to deliver his message (ie. the male leadd feeling out of place because they cannot fit in anywhere completely culturally. Here I have another caveat for you - which is about my bias towards people who like to talk about this. Not that I don't think this exists but some of my unpleasant expereince just tells me there are people who are merely using this to seek attention and making something out of absolutely nothing (or at least something small).
Plus, as an audience, I didn't feel Ananda feels himself being out of place in the movie (except for 1 or 2 scenes). I'd rather feel that it's only the girlfriends who cannot fit in his world. I think there's no need for this to be a dilmma. Both the Asian and Western upbringing can be a part of you and there's no need to feel confused and troubled. I've also seen people who can live with that very well. (okay, i'm very well aware that at this point, it's not merely about the movie but I sort of disapprove this message the director tries to bring out or disapprove the way he failed to make me feel what he intended.) And that last scene at the airport can't be anymore unnecessarily obvious and cheesy. He looks so comfortable wherever he is (At least I felt that way when watching the movie) and this last scene tries to convey the idea that he's meant to go and can't settle anywhere and feeling sad blah blah blah........How can I not feel this last scene is cheesy?
Another serious problem (in my opinion) is the way they present foreigners in the movie. Why Ananda has to change into this hip hop outfit when he meets up with his English-speaking friends? (And the content of their conversation...........)
The only thing I like is the title. The director explained why he adopted Hi-So as the film title. Hi-So means "High Society". It's a slang/common expression in Thailand. (I picked that up when watching lakorns.... Thai TV soap operas.) The director, Aditya Assarat, said he grew up with these so-called Hi-So people and they're actually different from the way presented in TV. So he wants to show people what they're actually like. (These people often study overseas so they have spent quite a bit of time in the West) I quite appreciate his intention and feels interesting.
Okay - the actors! Ananda Everingham as Ananda --> Since I like him too much, so I can't criticize anything about him :P I can't help smiling whenever he's on screen.
Cerise Leang as Ananda's American girlfriend. This really puzzles me. The director said he spent a lot of time and effort to trace this model because it's difficult to find Westerners who can act in Thailand. I don't feel that she can act. Perhaps it's just because the script is weak.
The actress who plays the 2nd girlfriend is much more natural.
*** Highlight of the film - Ananda Everingham speaking English!!!! His voice is absolutely mesmerizing!
--------------
I've heard about Hi-So for a while because I've been keeping track of the male lead Ananda Everingham. But I never really know what the movie's about. The trailer of this movie can't be found on Youtube either.
The film is not as good as I thought. I already knew the main theme is about someone who constantly feels being out of place because of their cultural background. Despite this caveat in the booklet, I still don't like it. Some parts were a bit boring (very much because I was tired...). To me, the script is not completely convincing.
The story is divided into 2 parts (ie. the 2 girlfriends). I found the 1st girlfirend quite unconvincing. Because from what I know (which is very limited), most foreigners are quite good at being alone and won't get annoyed because of boredom so easily. Things got emotional when the tension was not built up successfully. There's nothing else that should upset the girl that much beside being bored.
The 2nd part of the story is better. The 2nd girlfriend is more convincing because the way she behaves is closer to what we would see in daily life.
I think the director failed to deliver his message (ie. the male leadd feeling out of place because they cannot fit in anywhere completely culturally. Here I have another caveat for you - which is about my bias towards people who like to talk about this. Not that I don't think this exists but some of my unpleasant expereince just tells me there are people who are merely using this to seek attention and making something out of absolutely nothing (or at least something small).
Plus, as an audience, I didn't feel Ananda feels himself being out of place in the movie (except for 1 or 2 scenes). I'd rather feel that it's only the girlfriends who cannot fit in his world. I think there's no need for this to be a dilmma. Both the Asian and Western upbringing can be a part of you and there's no need to feel confused and troubled. I've also seen people who can live with that very well. (okay, i'm very well aware that at this point, it's not merely about the movie but I sort of disapprove this message the director tries to bring out or disapprove the way he failed to make me feel what he intended.) And that last scene at the airport can't be anymore unnecessarily obvious and cheesy. He looks so comfortable wherever he is (At least I felt that way when watching the movie) and this last scene tries to convey the idea that he's meant to go and can't settle anywhere and feeling sad blah blah blah........How can I not feel this last scene is cheesy?
Another serious problem (in my opinion) is the way they present foreigners in the movie. Why Ananda has to change into this hip hop outfit when he meets up with his English-speaking friends? (And the content of their conversation...........)
The only thing I like is the title. The director explained why he adopted Hi-So as the film title. Hi-So means "High Society". It's a slang/common expression in Thailand. (I picked that up when watching lakorns.... Thai TV soap operas.) The director, Aditya Assarat, said he grew up with these so-called Hi-So people and they're actually different from the way presented in TV. So he wants to show people what they're actually like. (These people often study overseas so they have spent quite a bit of time in the West) I quite appreciate his intention and feels interesting.
Okay - the actors! Ananda Everingham as Ananda --> Since I like him too much, so I can't criticize anything about him :P I can't help smiling whenever he's on screen.
Cerise Leang as Ananda's American girlfriend. This really puzzles me. The director said he spent a lot of time and effort to trace this model because it's difficult to find Westerners who can act in Thailand. I don't feel that she can act. Perhaps it's just because the script is weak.
The actress who plays the 2nd girlfriend is much more natural.
*** Highlight of the film - Ananda Everingham speaking English!!!! His voice is absolutely mesmerizing!
