BANGKOK LOVE STORY

Director: Poj Arnon

Stars: Rattanaballang Tohssawat, Chaiwat Thongsaeng, Wiradit Srimalai, Chutcha Rujinanon

Year: 2007

Rating: unrated

(in Thai w/English subtitles)

The raw, violent, and seedy side of Thailand's organized crime are the unlikely setting for a love story between two men, in a film that's both deeply disturbing and profoundly moving. Rattanaballang Tohssawat plays Cloud, a hired assassin forced into his line of work in order to be able to take care of his mother and young brother, both of whom are infected with HIV thanks to the total slimeball of a stepfather the mom brought into their home (a man who ran off long ago, after abusing his wife and raping Cloud's younger brother, Fog). Cloud has a lot of anger and a lot of issues - but throughout it all, he's kept one line of respectability: he will not kill a "good" man.

When a crime boss hires Cloud to kidnap a handsome, young, married attorney named Stone (Chaiwat Thongsaeng), Cloud is told that the attorney is corrupt and needs to be taken out. Showing up at the mobster's hideout with Stone handcuffed to his wrist, it's Cloud who realizes he's been fooled - Stone is a good man, set up for death so that he can't testify against crimes he witnessed - and when Cloud refuses to kill this "good" man, the two shackled men, victime and kindapper, are forced to flee for their lives in a pretty hardcore gunfight that leaves Cloud badly wounded.

They make it to the rooftop shack that Cloud lives/hides out in, where Stone (once free of the handcuffs) takes pity on the man who ended up saving his life, and not only gets the bullet out of Cloud but also dresses the wound ... and, over several days, bathes and feeds and nurses his captor back to health. The attraction the two men have for each other grows, both realizing there's something more going on here than either of them are comfortable with - and when that closeness develops into some passionate kissing ... then lovemaking ... Cloud is angry beyond belief afterward, at what he's done, and drives Stone from his place, threatening to shoot him if he doesn't leave. Stone ends up back home, but nothing about his life is the same anymore; withdrawn and distant from his wife, all he can do is think about Cloud - even as his many attempts to contact the man he's now in love with are futile. It's quite obvious that Cloud feels the same way, but these are feelings he cannot bring himself to further act on, as he instead plans his revenge on the crime boss, who've are still trying to kill him in turn.

It's a pretty heavy plotline, and the subplot about young Fog (Wiradit Srimalai) - who still lives with his mother, and is so poor he "rents" himself out to businessmen for sex, even though he knows he's infecting them with HIV - is not exactly uplifting, either. Thongsaeng, as Stone, turns in a brilliant performance as the idealist who believes that, somehow, he and Cloud can make things right if they're together as a couple - and his character counteracts greatly with Tohssawat as Cloud, a man whose known nothing but violence and anger for his entire life and can show no weakness.

While certainly not a happy film by any means, there's no denying the emotional impact - the downright power - that comes from the characters and story. The film is well-acted (especially by the two very handsome, talented leads), nicely written, and beautifully shot to show Thailand's seedier side.

It's also an emotionally draining story that will have your tearducts drained of every bit of moisture by the end - though the film never feels like it's manipulating the viewer for those tears. It's a love story, certainly, but just remember that some love stories end tragically ... although maybe what this movie's message is, in the end, is that love still prevails when all else is said and done. It's a heartbreaker, a massive tearjerker, and a film this reviewer will never forget. **** - Reel Awesome

(NOTE: be sure to watch the deleted scenes/alternate ending on the DVD; scenes cut from the original film, for time, that never should have been edited in the first place.)