On the opposite end of the youth oriented film
spectrum from the horror films are the youthful romantic comedies. Last year
“Dear Dakanda” was a surprise hit and this year perhaps “Seasons Change” may
be. I went to see it primarily to see a Thai film but with expectations of
needing brain surgery afterwards to remove the sudden buildup of glucose,
but instead came away nearly exhilarated at what a sweet smart low key romantic
comedy it was. It ploughs through very familiar territory but does so with
enormous appeal, sincerity and intelligent comedy. In fact, it is one of
the better romantic comedies I have seen in a while even though the romance
is kept more wistful than immediate and the comedy is wry rather than raucous
as Thai comedy often tends to be. In fact, not a transvestite or fart joke
to be seen or heard! I watched this in a theater among a sea of white blouses
and black pants/skirts and the students seemed to be laughing as much as
I was at the portrayal of high school life and young awkward love. Woven
through the film is also the simple pure innocent beauty of music and the
pleasure it gives us.
As in most high school crushes, Pom loves from
afar, his target of appreciation being the lovely and talented Dao (Yuwanat
Arayanimisakul). She is totally oblivious of his attentions and in fact in
a later amusing scene Pom discovers that she never even knew he existed. He
learns through wind blown fate that she is transferring to the only music
high school in Thailand and decides to transfer as well. He plays rock and
roll drums and unless this was all well faked the actor is pretty damn good
at it. When he informs his parents of his decision his father who owns a
small corner grocery store mistakenly thinks he is transferring to a pre-med
school and pokes fun at a friend of his whose daughter, Aom (Chutima Teepanat),
is also enrolling in the music school. Pom leaves him with his illusion –
he only wants to be near his love.
At his entrance exam he is asked dutifully by
the professors to perform certain well-known classical drum rolls and doesn’t
have a clue but a helpful professor acts out rock band names such as “Limp
Bizkit” to give him a clue. Again very amusing. He gets in but his rock and
roll credentials don’t get him any closer to his beloved - though they do
earn him two good friends who want to form a band. Dao is a violinist in
the school orchestra and to be near her he joins to play the timpani. Yes,
the timpani – a far cry from his rock and roll roots and not much action.
The school piece is Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Pom has to wait forever
for his moment of action to come about and fills the waiting time by running
chores.
At the same time be becomes chums with the rambunctious
Aom and she begins to develop a secret crush on him and is in turn crushed
when she learns about his feelings for the other girl. Finally Dao comes
to know Pom and to care for him and they both apply for a music scholarship
in Budapest – which is not in Germany as Pom thinks. Still you can sort of
guess where this is going and it heads there like a well-trained hunting
dog with only a few swerves – but it does it with such humor and gentleness
that you happily go along for the ride. It may be for those brought up on
raunchy American youth comedies a much too idealized innocent world in which
parents love their kids, kids respect their parents and love isn't driven
by bubbling hormones, but maybe we all need to believe in that fantasy from
time to time. Part of the strength of the film is the three personable performances
from the three students – Witawat Singlampong as Pom in particular has a
very easy going charm that is easy to digest – not a particularly deep performance
but a very appealing one. Also, helping the film considerably are the quirky
side characters of the two teachers (Japanese actor Yano Kazuki and Panisara
Pimpru) and the two friends. It all makes for a consistently entertaining
film and one I am glad I sat through.
My rating for this film: 7.5