Down the River (2004)

Simple but Poignant: A Tale of Unrequited Love

Krit's longtime crush on his questioning best friend has started to drive a rift between them. But in one last bid for time together, Krit invites Vin to join him on a journey in the wilderness to 9 Buddhist temples and the 7th tier of the neighboring waterfall. He had only planned for a journey filled with Vin's company, beautiful flowers to collect and press, and a wish to granted at the end of his quest. What he didn't anticipate was 2 other guests, as well as a journey that inspired feelings of nostalgia and lostness, before teaching him of peace and acceptance.

Despite a brief morbid moment and concerns over how the film would end, I found this to be a beautiful exploration of an unrequited first love. The backdrop of wilderness and Buddhist temples was well-chosen. And I'm not sure that this film would have had the same oddly comforting vibe had the music not been so well chosen (which, honestly, seems to be a trait of P'Nuchy's productions). And then there's our main character Krit: a young boy who sees beauty in everything and always wishes for happiness for everyone, and an eternal love for himself - wishes that Buddhism tells him is impossible. Wishes that society shuns. When he starts to feel lost, we can tell. There may not be explosive anger or giant tears, but we can tell.

It's simple. But it's poignant. The script, directing, and music left nothing to be desired for viewers. But the acting was a little stiff and I feel like Vin should have gotten more character development. I also think that there was a scene that was a bit too morbid, at least for my tastes anyway.

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I really liked director Anucha's last work - the series Not Me, so I tried this film, her first film from 2004, originally as a university graduation film, and here you can feel something different, nice. I fully agree with the depositor of this film r4472c that it is above all a charming picture, sometimes a work of art, and this time the Thai sticky, torturous, sometimes sad music sat like a pot. It's just a shame that the experience was spoiled by a bad copy of the movie.

Poslední dílo režisérky Anuchy - seriál Not Me, se mi moc líbil, tak jsem zkoukl tento film, její prvotinu z roku 2004, původně jako vysokoškolský absolventský film a už zde je cítit něco jiného, pěkného. Plně souhlasím s vkladatelem tohoto filmu r4472c, že se jedná především o okouzlující obraz, kolikrát přímo výtvarné dílo, a tentokráte mi i thajská tklivá, mučivá, někdy smutná hudba, sedla jako prdel na hrnec. Škoda jen, že prožitek kazila nedobrá kopie filmu.

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