The Love of Siam
Encyclopedia
The Love of Siam is a 2007 Thai gay-themed romantic
-drama film
written and directed by Chookiat Sakveerakul
. A multi-layered family drama, a groundbreaking element of the story is a gay romance
between two teenage boys.
The film was released in Thailand on November 22, 2007. The fact that the gay storyline was not apparent from the film's promotional material initially caused controversy, but the film was received with critical acclaim and proved financially successful. It dominated Thailand's 2007 film awards season, winning the Best Picture category in all major events,
and is joined by his grandma, who begins to play a song. Mew asks his grandma why she liked that song and his grandma responds by telling Mew that it was played for her by his grandpa. It was a way for him to express his love to her and she explains that one day, Mew will understand the meaning of the song.
Tong's family is going on vacation to Chiang Mai
and his older sister, Tang, begs her mother to be allowed to stay on with her friends a couple days more. Tong buys Mew a present and decides to give it to Mew piece by piece in a game of Treasure Hunt, a tradition in his family. One by one, Mew finds all of the pieces except for the last one which is hidden in a tree. The tree is cut down just as Mew is about to retrieve it leaving the present Tong bought for Mew incomplete. Tong is disappointed at their misfortune, but Mew remains grateful for Tong's efforts.
Tang calls her parents from Chiang Mai and tells them that she will be extending her stay in Chiang Mai until the 24th of December. Tong looks at his calendar and realizes that Tang will not be able to attend the Christmas play he would participate in. The parents worry about their daughter. Tang cannot be reached. After the Christmas play, Tong receives a phone call from his parents telling him to stay with Mew and his grandma. After spending the night at Mew's house, Tong awakens to the sight of his parents along with Mew and his grandma. His parents go to Chiang Mai to look for their daughter Tang, who may have gotten lost on a trek into the mountains. Tong becomes devastated that his sister is missing, and cries as Mew tries comfort his friend.
Months have passed and Tong's family decides to move to another part of Bangkok. On the day of the move, Tong finds Mew sitting on a ledge overlooking a pier. Tong says his final words and departs in a car. Tong looks back only to find Mew walking towards the car before coming to a stop and crying for losing his best friend.
Six years pass; Tong's father is a severe alcoholic, due to his guilt for losing his daughter. Tong has a pretty--but uptight--girlfriend, Donut. Tong and Mew are reunited during their senior year of high school at Siam Square
. The musically talented Mew is the lead singer of a boy band
called August. The meeting stirs up old feelings that Mew has harbored since boyhood, his love for Tong.
The manager of Mew's band, Aod, instructs the young musicians--their songwriter Mew in particular--that they must write a song about love in order to sell more records. He assigns them a new assistant manager, June. Coincidentally, June looks just like Tong's missing sister, Tang. When Tong eventually meets her, he and his mother, Sunee, devise to a plan to hire June to pretend she is Tang, in hopes that it will pull Tong's father out of his alcoholic depression
. "Tang" borrows a story from the Thai film Ruk Jung
, saying she has amnesia
, which is why she says a Buddhist prayer of thanks instead of Catholic Grace
at the dinner table. Amazingly to Sunee, June seems to know too much of the family's past. Tang passes it off as her creative imagination.
Mew is also the object of an unrequited crush
of an obsessive neighbor girl, Ying, who is trying to use a voodoo doll and other tricks to make the boy like her. Unfortunately for her, Mew is more interested in his boyhood friend Tong, who has now become the inspiration for writing the new songs. The manager, as well as the entire band, are all impressed with Mew's composition.
As part of the deception with "Tang," a backyard party is held in honor of her return, and Mew's band August provides the entertainment. Singing the new love song for the first time in public, Mew's eyes lock intensely with Tong's. June notices this. After the party, everyone has left and the two boys are left alone in the yard. They share a prolonged kiss. Unseen, Tong's mother Sunee accidentally witnesses this. The next day, she goes to meet Mew and firmly instructs him to stay away from her son. When Tong finds out that his mother has interfered, an argument ensues, but she has succeeded in creating a rift between the teens which persists for some time. Mew is heartbroken and loses his musical inspiration, so he quits the band.
At Christmas
time, as he and his mother are decorating their Christmas tree
, he finally finds a way to show her how controlling she is. June has saved money and about the same time heads off in a bus to Chiang Mai. Whether June and Tang were the same person, we will never know.
Tong goes to Siam Square
for a date with Donut. Mew has rejoined the band, and they are playing nearby. Tong abandons Donut, telling her they are no longer together. He then rushes to see Mew play and is guided there by Ying, who has accepted the fact that Mew loves Tong. After the performance, Tong gives Mew his Christmas gift, the missing nose from the wooden doll that Tong gave him when they were children. Tong then says to Mew, "I can't be your boyfriend, but that doesn't mean I don't love you."
The film ends with Mew putting the missing nose back to the wooden puppet, saying "thank you" and crying quietly.
Marketed as a typical teen romance between boys and girls, the gay
aspect of the love story was controversial.
Thai-language web boards were posted with messages of support, as well as accusations by moviegoers that they were misled into watching "a gay movie."
Writer/director Chookiat Sakveerakul
admitted the film was marketed on the film posters and in the film's previews as a straight romance because he wanted it to reach a wider audience.
"The movie is not all about gay characters, we are not focusing on gay issues, we are not saying, 'let's come out of the closet,' so obviously, we don't want the movie to have a 'gay' label," he said in an interview.
But the director confirmed the mixed reaction of audiences. "I went incognito to a movie theater and observed the audience. I didn't expect such a strong reaction. Maybe I was just too optimistic that homophobia in Thai society had subsided."
. It slipped to No. 2 the following weekend, unseated by the comedy film, Ponglang Amazing Theater. In the third week of release, it had dropped to No. 5, with to-date box office takings of US$1,198,637. It has grossed a total of US$1,305,125 to date.
The film was officially released in Taiwan
on September 19, 2008 and Singapore
on July 16, 2009. It reached No. 12 at the Taiwan box office in opening week.
Bangkok Post
film critic Kong Rithdee called the film "groundbreaking", in terms of being the first Thai film "to discuss teenagers' sexuality with frankness". He praised the mature, realistic family drama aspects of the film, as well as the solid performances, particularly by Sinjai Plengpanich
as the mother Sunee.
Another Bangkok Post commentator, Nattakorn Devakula, said the film contained important lessons for Thai society. "The point that the film attempts to teach viewers – and a largely conservative Thai society – is that love is an evolved form of emotional attachment that transcends sexual attraction of the physical form."
A reviewer for The Nation
called the film "brilliantly conceived".
A few critics found fault with the film, among them Gregoire Glachant of BK magazine, who commented that "The Love of Siam isn't a very well shot movie. Chookiat's camera only records his dull play with equally dull angles and light as it wanders from homes to schools, to recording studio, and to Siam Square without sense of purpose or directions."
The movie also reached a rating of 7.6 (out of 10) on the Internet Movie Database.
The Love of Siam dominated Thailand's 2007 film awards season, winning the Best Picture category in all major national film award events, including the Thailand National Film Association Awards
, Starpics Magazine's Starpics Awards, the Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards, Star Entertainment Awards, and Kom Chad Luek
Newspaper's Kom Chad Luek Awards. Awards won by the film include the following:
The film was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Mario Maurer) and Best Composer (Kitti Kuremanee) categories in the Asian Film Awards
at the Hong Kong International Film Festival
, but did not win.
In October 2008, Mario Maurer
won the Best Actor award in Southeast Asian film category at the 10th Cinemanila International Film Festival
.
The Love of Siam is Thailand's submission to the 81st Academy Awards.
The film was first shot on December 26, 2006, taking advantage of the Christmas
lights and decorations of Siam Square
and the surrounding area.
The Love of Siam is unusual among Thai films
in many respects. First, at 150 minutes, the film is markedly longer than most other Thai films, and second it is a drama film, which is rare in the Thai industry, which mainly produces horror, comedy, action, and (heterosexual) teen romance films.
Director Sakveerakul said he felt the longer running time was needed to more fully develop all the characters and the story. He received full backing for this decision from producer Prachya Pinkaew
and the production company, Sahamongkol Film International
.
"They liked the first cut, which was even longer, so I didn't need to convince them that much. I feel that every minute of the movie is important, and I'm glad the audience will be able to see it in full," Chookiat said in an interview before the film's release.
A nearly three-hour "director's cut" was released in January 2008 exclusively at the House RCA cinema, and it played for several weeks of sold-out shows.
The film was a departure for Chookiat, who had previously directed the horror film, Pisaj
and the psychological thriller, 13 Beloved
.
The gay romance was also unusual, in that it involved two "straight acting" boys. In most Thai films with gay characters, gay men are coarsely depicted as transgenders or transvestites with exaggerated effeminacy.
The young actors portraying Mew and Tong both had difficulties with the kissing scene.
Witwisit Hiranyawongkul
, who portrays Mew, accepted the role because it was challenging and because he was interested in working with the director, who was a senior classmate at Montfort College in Chiang Mai.
Mario Maurer
, of Chinese-German descent, portrayed Tong, and was "nervous". "I've never kissed a man and kissing is not something you do every day," he said in an interview. "My father said it was just a job and not to think about it too much."
, Witwisit Hiranyawongkul, the August band, Passakorn Wiroonsup and Flure, and a VCD. The album proved popular, and had sold out of many shops in the weeks after its release. "Gun Lae Gun" spent seven weeks at number one on Seed 97.5 FM
's charts.
Tagline: "Just ask yourself who you think of when you are listening to love song."
Disc 1 (CD)
Disc 2 (VCD)
was released on February 19, 2008 in anamorphic widescreen format with Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby 2.0 Surround audio tracks and a commentary by the director. The DVD includes music videos, trailer and a photo gallery.
The three-disc director's cut DVD was released on April 9, 2008. Discs 1 and 2 contain the 173 minutes director's cut of the film. Disc 3 includes a trailer, a film documentary, deleted scenes, a Making Of, character introduction, a live concert, an interview with the songwriter and the complete theatrical version with an on-screen commentary by the director.
In addition, an audio CD, a wooden doll, postcards, the letter and a note of "Gun lae gun" are featured in a limited DVD Boxset.
The Love of Siam was released as a Collector's Edition 3-disc set in Taiwan on January 21, 2009. This edition duplicates the Thai three-disc director's cut DVD and adds an exclusive extra of the director's and stars' reception in Taiwan. This is the only DVD of the director's cut that has English subtitles on both the film and the extras, except the Making Of which doesn't have any subtitles.
All Thailand editions mentioned above are now out of print. A budget-price one disc version was released in 2009, accompanied by a two disc version of the director's cut.
The Love of Siam (theatrical version) was released in the US on October 13, 2009. The only extra is the trailer. This is the only DVD of the theatrical version that has English subtitles.
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
-drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by Chookiat Sakveerakul
Chookiat Sakveerakul
Chookiat Sakveerakul is a Thai film director and screenwriter. He is also credited as Ma-Deaw Chukiatsakwirakul or Matthew Chukiat Sakwirakul....
. A multi-layered family drama, a groundbreaking element of the story is a gay romance
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
between two teenage boys.
The film was released in Thailand on November 22, 2007. The fact that the gay storyline was not apparent from the film's promotional material initially caused controversy, but the film was received with critical acclaim and proved financially successful. It dominated Thailand's 2007 film awards season, winning the Best Picture category in all major events,
Plot
Ten-year olds Mew and Tong are neighbors. Mew is a soft-featured but stubborn kid, while Tong is a more masculine, energetic boy who lives with his parents and sister, a Christian Thai family. After accidentally spitting gum into Mew's hair, Tong wants to befriend Mew, but the quiet boy and his outgoing neighbor are not initially close. At school, effeminate Mew is teased by several other students and harassed until Tong steps in to defend him. Tong receives injuries and now they begin a friendship. Tong apologizes to Mew for the chewing gum incident. Mew is grateful for Tong stepping in and responds that now they are even. Mew plays on his late grandpa's pianoPiano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and is joined by his grandma, who begins to play a song. Mew asks his grandma why she liked that song and his grandma responds by telling Mew that it was played for her by his grandpa. It was a way for him to express his love to her and she explains that one day, Mew will understand the meaning of the song.
Tong's family is going on vacation to Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...
and his older sister, Tang, begs her mother to be allowed to stay on with her friends a couple days more. Tong buys Mew a present and decides to give it to Mew piece by piece in a game of Treasure Hunt, a tradition in his family. One by one, Mew finds all of the pieces except for the last one which is hidden in a tree. The tree is cut down just as Mew is about to retrieve it leaving the present Tong bought for Mew incomplete. Tong is disappointed at their misfortune, but Mew remains grateful for Tong's efforts.
Tang calls her parents from Chiang Mai and tells them that she will be extending her stay in Chiang Mai until the 24th of December. Tong looks at his calendar and realizes that Tang will not be able to attend the Christmas play he would participate in. The parents worry about their daughter. Tang cannot be reached. After the Christmas play, Tong receives a phone call from his parents telling him to stay with Mew and his grandma. After spending the night at Mew's house, Tong awakens to the sight of his parents along with Mew and his grandma. His parents go to Chiang Mai to look for their daughter Tang, who may have gotten lost on a trek into the mountains. Tong becomes devastated that his sister is missing, and cries as Mew tries comfort his friend.
Months have passed and Tong's family decides to move to another part of Bangkok. On the day of the move, Tong finds Mew sitting on a ledge overlooking a pier. Tong says his final words and departs in a car. Tong looks back only to find Mew walking towards the car before coming to a stop and crying for losing his best friend.
Six years pass; Tong's father is a severe alcoholic, due to his guilt for losing his daughter. Tong has a pretty--but uptight--girlfriend, Donut. Tong and Mew are reunited during their senior year of high school at Siam Square
Siam Square
Siam Square is a shopping and entertainment area in the Siam District of Bangkok, Thailand. The area connects to other shopping centres and links to the other shopping districts by sky bridge, such as Siam Center/Siam Discovery Center, MBK Center, Siam Paragon, Ratchaprasong shopping district and...
. The musically talented Mew is the lead singer of a boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
called August. The meeting stirs up old feelings that Mew has harbored since boyhood, his love for Tong.
The manager of Mew's band, Aod, instructs the young musicians--their songwriter Mew in particular--that they must write a song about love in order to sell more records. He assigns them a new assistant manager, June. Coincidentally, June looks just like Tong's missing sister, Tang. When Tong eventually meets her, he and his mother, Sunee, devise to a plan to hire June to pretend she is Tang, in hopes that it will pull Tong's father out of his alcoholic depression
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. "Tang" borrows a story from the Thai film Ruk Jung
Ruk jung
Ruk Jung is a 2006 Thai romantic-comedy film directed by Haeman Chatemee and starring "Film" Ratchaphoom Tokongsup and Paula Taylor.- Plot :...
, saying she has amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
, which is why she says a Buddhist prayer of thanks instead of Catholic Grace
Grace (prayer)
Grace is a name for any of a number of short prayers said or an unvoiced intention held prior to or after eating, thanking God and/or the entities that have given of themselves to furnish nutrients to those partaking in the meal. Some traditions hold that grace and thanksgiving imparts a blessing...
at the dinner table. Amazingly to Sunee, June seems to know too much of the family's past. Tang passes it off as her creative imagination.
Mew is also the object of an unrequited crush
Unrequited love
Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
of an obsessive neighbor girl, Ying, who is trying to use a voodoo doll and other tricks to make the boy like her. Unfortunately for her, Mew is more interested in his boyhood friend Tong, who has now become the inspiration for writing the new songs. The manager, as well as the entire band, are all impressed with Mew's composition.
As part of the deception with "Tang," a backyard party is held in honor of her return, and Mew's band August provides the entertainment. Singing the new love song for the first time in public, Mew's eyes lock intensely with Tong's. June notices this. After the party, everyone has left and the two boys are left alone in the yard. They share a prolonged kiss. Unseen, Tong's mother Sunee accidentally witnesses this. The next day, she goes to meet Mew and firmly instructs him to stay away from her son. When Tong finds out that his mother has interfered, an argument ensues, but she has succeeded in creating a rift between the teens which persists for some time. Mew is heartbroken and loses his musical inspiration, so he quits the band.
At Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time, as he and his mother are decorating their Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
, he finally finds a way to show her how controlling she is. June has saved money and about the same time heads off in a bus to Chiang Mai. Whether June and Tang were the same person, we will never know.
Tong goes to Siam Square
Siam Square
Siam Square is a shopping and entertainment area in the Siam District of Bangkok, Thailand. The area connects to other shopping centres and links to the other shopping districts by sky bridge, such as Siam Center/Siam Discovery Center, MBK Center, Siam Paragon, Ratchaprasong shopping district and...
for a date with Donut. Mew has rejoined the band, and they are playing nearby. Tong abandons Donut, telling her they are no longer together. He then rushes to see Mew play and is guided there by Ying, who has accepted the fact that Mew loves Tong. After the performance, Tong gives Mew his Christmas gift, the missing nose from the wooden doll that Tong gave him when they were children. Tong then says to Mew, "I can't be your boyfriend, but that doesn't mean I don't love you."
The film ends with Mew putting the missing nose back to the wooden puppet, saying "thank you" and crying quietly.
Cast
- Witwisit HiranyawongkulWitwisit HiranyawongkulWitwisit Hiranyawongkul in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is a Thai actor and singer and matinee idol . He is the best known for his movie The Love of Siam portrayed as a gay.-Early life:...
as Mew - Mario MaurerMario MaurerMario Maurer is a Thai of German and Chinese descent model and actor. He is best known for his lead roles in the 2007 film, The Love of Siam and the 2010 sleeper hit, First Love .-Biography:...
as Tong - Kanya Rattanapetch as Ying
- Aticha Pongsilpipat as Donut
- Chermarn BoonyasakChermarn BoonyasakChermarn Boonyasak is a Thai film and television actress and model. Her film roles have included the title ghost character in director Yuthlert Sippapak's horror-comedies Buppah Rahtree and Buppah Rahtree Phase 2: Rahtree Returns...
as Tang/June - Sinjai PlengpanichSinjai PlengpanichSinjai Plengpanich , née Sinjai Hongtai , , is a Thai actress. She has acted in numerous lakorn as well as films and theatrical productions...
as Sunee, Tong's mother - Songsit Rungnopakunsri as Korn, Tong's father
Marketing controversy and audience response
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
aspect of the love story was controversial.
Thai-language web boards were posted with messages of support, as well as accusations by moviegoers that they were misled into watching "a gay movie."
Writer/director Chookiat Sakveerakul
Chookiat Sakveerakul
Chookiat Sakveerakul is a Thai film director and screenwriter. He is also credited as Ma-Deaw Chukiatsakwirakul or Matthew Chukiat Sakwirakul....
admitted the film was marketed on the film posters and in the film's previews as a straight romance because he wanted it to reach a wider audience.
"The movie is not all about gay characters, we are not focusing on gay issues, we are not saying, 'let's come out of the closet,' so obviously, we don't want the movie to have a 'gay' label," he said in an interview.
But the director confirmed the mixed reaction of audiences. "I went incognito to a movie theater and observed the audience. I didn't expect such a strong reaction. Maybe I was just too optimistic that homophobia in Thai society had subsided."
Commercial performance
The Love of Siam was released in Thai cinemas on November 22, 2007, opening on 146 screens. It was the No. 1 film at the Thai box office that weekend, topping the previous No. 1 film, BeowulfBeowulf (2007 film)
Beowulf is a 2007 American animated fantasy film written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary inspired by the Old English epic poem of the same name. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film was created through a motion capture process similar to the technique he used in The Polar Express...
. It slipped to No. 2 the following weekend, unseated by the comedy film, Ponglang Amazing Theater. In the third week of release, it had dropped to No. 5, with to-date box office takings of US$1,198,637. It has grossed a total of US$1,305,125 to date.
The film was officially released in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
on September 19, 2008 and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
on July 16, 2009. It reached No. 12 at the Taiwan box office in opening week.
Critical response
The Love of Siam was received with critical acclaim upon its release.Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
The Bangkok Post is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. The first issue was sold on August 1, 1946. It had four pages and cost 1 baht, a considerable amount at the time....
film critic Kong Rithdee called the film "groundbreaking", in terms of being the first Thai film "to discuss teenagers' sexuality with frankness". He praised the mature, realistic family drama aspects of the film, as well as the solid performances, particularly by Sinjai Plengpanich
Sinjai Plengpanich
Sinjai Plengpanich , née Sinjai Hongtai , , is a Thai actress. She has acted in numerous lakorn as well as films and theatrical productions...
as the mother Sunee.
Another Bangkok Post commentator, Nattakorn Devakula, said the film contained important lessons for Thai society. "The point that the film attempts to teach viewers – and a largely conservative Thai society – is that love is an evolved form of emotional attachment that transcends sexual attraction of the physical form."
A reviewer for The Nation
The Nation (Thailand)
The Nation is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper founded in 1971 and published in Bangkok, Thailand, and is owned by the Nation Multimedia Group.The Nation is a member of the Asia News Network...
called the film "brilliantly conceived".
A few critics found fault with the film, among them Gregoire Glachant of BK magazine, who commented that "The Love of Siam isn't a very well shot movie. Chookiat's camera only records his dull play with equally dull angles and light as it wanders from homes to schools, to recording studio, and to Siam Square without sense of purpose or directions."
The movie also reached a rating of 7.6 (out of 10) on the Internet Movie Database.
Accolades
Thailand National Film Association Awards
The Thailand National Film Association Awards is a Thai film industry ceremony held annually by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand...
, Starpics Magazine's Starpics Awards, the Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards, Star Entertainment Awards, and Kom Chad Luek
Kom Chad Luek
Kom Chad Luek is a mass-circulation Thai-language daily newspaper launched in 2001 and published in Bangkok, Thailand by the Nation Multimedia Group...
Newspaper's Kom Chad Luek Awards. Awards won by the film include the following:
Starpics Awards
Kom Chad Luek Awards
Thailand National Film Association Awards
|
Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards
Star Entertainment Awards
Osaka Asian Film Festival 2009
|
The film was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Mario Maurer) and Best Composer (Kitti Kuremanee) categories in the Asian Film Awards
Asian Film Awards
The Asian Film Awards are presented annually by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to recognize excellence of film professionals in the film industries of Asian cinema.-History:...
at the Hong Kong International Film Festival
Hong Kong International Film Festival
The Hong Kong International Film Festival is a platform for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world to launch and experience new film work. There are seminars, conferences, exhibitions, and parties celebrating the festival community...
, but did not win.
In October 2008, Mario Maurer
Mario Maurer
Mario Maurer is a Thai of German and Chinese descent model and actor. He is best known for his lead roles in the 2007 film, The Love of Siam and the 2010 sleeper hit, First Love .-Biography:...
won the Best Actor award in Southeast Asian film category at the 10th Cinemanila International Film Festival
Cinemanila International Film Festival
The Cinemanila International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Manila, the Philippines. It was founded by Filipino filmmaker Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz in 1999....
.
The Love of Siam is Thailand's submission to the 81st Academy Awards.
Production
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
lights and decorations of Siam Square
Siam Square
Siam Square is a shopping and entertainment area in the Siam District of Bangkok, Thailand. The area connects to other shopping centres and links to the other shopping districts by sky bridge, such as Siam Center/Siam Discovery Center, MBK Center, Siam Paragon, Ratchaprasong shopping district and...
and the surrounding area.
The Love of Siam is unusual among Thai films
Cinema of Thailand
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited...
in many respects. First, at 150 minutes, the film is markedly longer than most other Thai films, and second it is a drama film, which is rare in the Thai industry, which mainly produces horror, comedy, action, and (heterosexual) teen romance films.
Director Sakveerakul said he felt the longer running time was needed to more fully develop all the characters and the story. He received full backing for this decision from producer Prachya Pinkaew
Prachya Pinkaew
Prachya Pinkaew is a Thai film director, film producer and screenwriter. His films include Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior and Tom-Yum-Goong, both martial arts films starring Tony Jaa.-Biography:...
and the production company, Sahamongkol Film International
Sahamongkol Film International
Sahamongkol Film International Co. Ltd. is a Thai motion picture production and distribution company. It is the leading movie company in Thailand, ahead of GMM Grammy's GMM Tai Hub, Five Star Production and...
.
"They liked the first cut, which was even longer, so I didn't need to convince them that much. I feel that every minute of the movie is important, and I'm glad the audience will be able to see it in full," Chookiat said in an interview before the film's release.
A nearly three-hour "director's cut" was released in January 2008 exclusively at the House RCA cinema, and it played for several weeks of sold-out shows.
The film was a departure for Chookiat, who had previously directed the horror film, Pisaj
Pisaj
Pisaj is a 2004 Thai horror film directed by Mae-deaw Chukiatsakwirakul.-Plot:After her parents are killed in a drive-by shooting, a young woman named Oui has no place else to go...
and the psychological thriller, 13 Beloved
13 Beloved
13 Beloved is a 2006 Thai horror comedy/psychological thriller film written and directed by Chukiat Sakveerakul and starring Krissada Sukosol Clapp...
.
The gay romance was also unusual, in that it involved two "straight acting" boys. In most Thai films with gay characters, gay men are coarsely depicted as transgenders or transvestites with exaggerated effeminacy.
The young actors portraying Mew and Tong both had difficulties with the kissing scene.
Witwisit Hiranyawongkul
Witwisit Hiranyawongkul
Witwisit Hiranyawongkul in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is a Thai actor and singer and matinee idol . He is the best known for his movie The Love of Siam portrayed as a gay.-Early life:...
, who portrays Mew, accepted the role because it was challenging and because he was interested in working with the director, who was a senior classmate at Montfort College in Chiang Mai.
Mario Maurer
Mario Maurer
Mario Maurer is a Thai of German and Chinese descent model and actor. He is best known for his lead roles in the 2007 film, The Love of Siam and the 2010 sleeper hit, First Love .-Biography:...
, of Chinese-German descent, portrayed Tong, and was "nervous". "I've never kissed a man and kissing is not something you do every day," he said in an interview. "My father said it was just a job and not to think about it too much."
Soundtrack
An original soundtrack album was released on November 12, 2007, ahead of the film's release. The two-disc package features a CD with music tracks by Chookiat SakveerakulChookiat Sakveerakul
Chookiat Sakveerakul is a Thai film director and screenwriter. He is also credited as Ma-Deaw Chukiatsakwirakul or Matthew Chukiat Sakwirakul....
, Witwisit Hiranyawongkul, the August band, Passakorn Wiroonsup and Flure, and a VCD. The album proved popular, and had sold out of many shops in the weeks after its release. "Gun Lae Gun" spent seven weeks at number one on Seed 97.5 FM
SEED 97.5 FM
Seed 97.5 FM is a radio station owned and operated by MCOT and based in Bangkok, Thailand. It broadcasts over the 97.5 MHz FM frequency in the Greater Bangkok area, and is repeated nationwide through MCOT Radio's regional network....
's charts.
Tagline: "Just ask yourself who you think of when you are listening to love song."
Disc 1 (CD)
- "Gun lae gun" ("กันและกัน") – performed by Suweera Boonrod (Flure) – 4:34
- "Ticket (Day Trip)" – performed by Chookiat Sakveerakul & August Band – 3:34
- "Roo suek barng mhai" ("รู้สึกบ้างไหม") (Live) – performed by Witwisit Hiranyawongkul – 4:16
- "Pieng ter" ("เพียงเธอ") – performed by Witwisit Hiranyawongkul – 4:12
- "Gun lae gun" ("กันและกัน") (Acoustic version) – performed by Chookiat Sakveerakul – 6:20
- "Kuen aun pen niran" ("คืนอันเป็นนิรันดร์") – performed by Passakorn Wiroonsup – 3:07
- "Gun lae gun" ("กันและกัน") (Live) – performed by Witwisit Hiranyawongkul – 6:02
- "Roo suek barng mhai" ("รู้สึกบ้างไหม ") (Original Mix) – performed by Witwisit Hiranyawongkul – 5:00
- "Pieng ter" ("เพียงเธอ") (Demo) – performed by Chookiat Sakveerakul – 4:23
- "Ticket (Night Trip)" (Bonus Track) – Instrumental – 3:50
Disc 2 (VCD)
- The Love of Siam trailer
- "Gun lae gun" music video
- Introducing the August band
- "Gun lae gun" behind-the-scenes music video
Home media
The standard DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released on February 19, 2008 in anamorphic widescreen format with Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby 2.0 Surround audio tracks and a commentary by the director. The DVD includes music videos, trailer and a photo gallery.
The three-disc director's cut DVD was released on April 9, 2008. Discs 1 and 2 contain the 173 minutes director's cut of the film. Disc 3 includes a trailer, a film documentary, deleted scenes, a Making Of, character introduction, a live concert, an interview with the songwriter and the complete theatrical version with an on-screen commentary by the director.
In addition, an audio CD, a wooden doll, postcards, the letter and a note of "Gun lae gun" are featured in a limited DVD Boxset.
The Love of Siam was released as a Collector's Edition 3-disc set in Taiwan on January 21, 2009. This edition duplicates the Thai three-disc director's cut DVD and adds an exclusive extra of the director's and stars' reception in Taiwan. This is the only DVD of the director's cut that has English subtitles on both the film and the extras, except the Making Of which doesn't have any subtitles.
All Thailand editions mentioned above are now out of print. A budget-price one disc version was released in 2009, accompanied by a two disc version of the director's cut.
The Love of Siam (theatrical version) was released in the US on October 13, 2009. The only extra is the trailer. This is the only DVD of the theatrical version that has English subtitles.
External links
- The Love of Siam at SiamZone