Monrak Transistor

Plot synopsis:
The story begins in a jail, where a prisoner is being interrogated. The action is taking place in the background, behind bars and is blurred. The focus is on a bottle of laxative. Seems the prisoner has stolen a necklace and swallowed it. Soon, the necklace is passed. And it's not even real gold.
The old jailer picks up the story, saying the prisoner is a boy named Pan from his home village. Pan is a simple country boy. In the words of the jailer, he thinks about entertainment too much and is not respectful enough of his elders. In other words, he's not too bright. Yet, he is a good singer, and the story flashes back to a village fair, where he's up on stage singing his heart out, with his lyrics being composed on the spot and directed toward Sadao, a pretty village girl who is dancing in the crowd.
A local rich kid pulls up in his truck and asks Sadao to dance. Then, when the rich kid goes to the drinks stand, Pan hands his microphone over to another performer and moves to dance with Sadao. The rich kid returns, and Pan bumps into him, spilling the drinks. The rich guy, with his thuggish friends in tow, orders Pan to clean up the mess. Pan does so by spitting on the guy's shoes. A fight breaks out, but the music keeps going, with a guitarist picking up the beat and screaming a punk song as the fight intensifies.
Pan and Sadao retreat to Sadao's home, where Pan breaks into another song, expressing his love. But before long, Sadao's irascible father shows up with a shotgun, causing Pan to jump into the river to escape the shotgun blasts.
Pan is not easily deterred. Via his sister, he sends Sadao a pretty blue blouse, accompanied by a love note. He then shows up one day to dig a pond for Sadao's father, explaining that the man Sadao's father had originally hired was sick. He insists on calling the man Dad.
"Stop calling me Dad. When did I fuck your mother," the old man cruelly admonishes Pan.
The old man is complaining of various aches and pains. Pan offers to get him some folk medicine, something involving foot pollen, which because of the cultural association of the foot being the basest part of the body, gravely offends him. Pan is back in the doghouse with Sadao's father.
Yet the two become married. For a present, Pan presents Sadao with a new transistor radio. They have a baby on the way and they enjoy being together.
"The movie could end here," the narrator chimes in, "and you'd be heading for exits with a happy ending. But there is more to this sad tale."
Pan's run of bad luck starts when he draws the wrong number in the draft lottery and must enter the army. He heads off to basic training before his wife gives birth to their child. He promises to write her a letter every day.
A musical interlude depicts Pan and the other soldiers singing the mournful song "Mai Leum" ("Don't Forget) as they crawl on their backs in the mud under barbed wire, and during their haircuts.
One day Pan sees a poster for a singing contest and at the urging of his army buddies, he enters. He nervously gets up on stage and says he wants to sing "The Sad Soldier". The band doesn't know the tune, so Pan sings it a cappella. Though he wows the crowd, he faints onstage when the song is complete. Along with a local girl, Dao, Pan wins the contest and without giving thought to the consequences, he's on a bus headed for Bangkok, where he hopes to become a big singing star.
He ends up locked inside the music company's office, where he spends the night. The next day, he meets his new boss, a sleazy producer named Suwat, who insists Pan call him "Daddy". He lectures Pan about all the hard work he'll need to do before making it as a star.
So Pan pitches in around the office, mopping floors and running errands. Months go by. He mops the floor while the other singer who won the contest, Dao, receives training as a singer. Pan keeps mopping. Soon, 27 months have gone by. He's still mopping floors.
Meanwhile, Sadao is left alone to raise the couple's child. She has not heard a word from Pan and is looking careworn. The radio she was given as a wedding present is starting to wear out.
Pan sleeps in a storage closet, a room he shares with an old man named Yen, who reveals that he, too, wanted to be a singing star, but it's the young women who usually get all the breaks first, he tells Pan.
So Pan keeps mopping floors, washing cars and running errands. He also becomes close with Dao, whom he assists one night after she becomes ill.
Finally, one night at a show, Pan gets his big break when the star male singer doesn't show up. Pan is hastily thrown into a gold lame tuxedo and pushed onstage.
What he doesn't know is that out in the crowd is Sadao and her father. They have finally tracked down Pan and have come to visit him. She's brought him bottles of rainwater from the village, figuring the water in the city is dirty and unfit to drink. Pan and Sadao enjoy a brief reunion after the show, but Pan is quickly whisked away by Suwat, to Suwat's home, which is decorated with animal skins.
Suwat tells Pan to relax and goes to change. He comes out with some beers, wearing just a silk bathrobe and his underwear. Suwat puts on a porn tape – it's a film of the girl singer, Dao. Suwat tells Pan to strip and has him pose for photos. Suwat becomes bolder and bolder, and eventually sexually assaults Pan. Pan reacts in surprise and confusion, pushing Suwat off of him. Suwat lands on a glass table and is killed.
Pan runs out into the street. He sees a policeman. Now, not only is he AWOL from the army, he's also a murderer. He then spots a truck loaded down with other men, so he hops aboard, hoping to hop back off when the truck stops. But the truck doesn't stop until it's taken Pan to a remote sugar cane plantation, where he's set to work cutting cane in torturous conditions.
Meanwhile, back in the village, a smooth-talking travelling salesman, peddling deworming medicine from his boat, is passing through. He's taken a liking to Sadao, giving her some medicine for her sick baby and inviting her to a movie screening that night. He further charms her at the screening, by demonstrating his talents as a film dubber, improvising lines to tell her how beautiful she is.
Back on the sugar-cane plantation, the workers, tired of their diet of vegetables and rice, are restive. Pan has made friends with one of the workers, Siew, but Pan is also well liked by the tough boss, Yot. One night at a card game, Yot finds that Siew has won all his money. A fight breaks out. There is running through the jungle. Dead bodies are uncovered. The horror! Pan and Siew keep running, and eventually wind up in the city.
Starving and their clothes ragged, they happen upon a luxury hotel where they see beggers, street cleaners and motorcycle taxi drivers – poor people – being ushered in, Pan and Siew walk in and start helping themselves to the buffet, shoving food into their pockets. It's a charity ball where the elite are dressing up as the poor, and Pan and Siew win the prize for most authentic costume. But when all the food in their pockets is discovered, they are kicked out of the hotel.
Desperate for money, Pan and Siew hatch another plan. Siew snatches a woman's necklace, and, as she chases him, he passes it Pan, who is then chased by the police. Eventually Pan is caught, and this brings the story back to where it started in the jail.
Pan ends up serving two years in prison, where he and the other inmates work on the prison farm, fertilizing crops with their own feces and urine. While dipping a bucket into the sewage well, Pan falls in, and is covered in the brown substance.
On his release, Pan waits on the street for a ride. A truck pulls up. It is Siew, who is wearing a track suit, lots of jewelry and is carrying a cellular phone. With his hair dyed blond, he calls himself Peter and announces he is now a drug dealer, and has made quick money. And, to add more indignity to the situation, he's married a former singing star and porn actress - Dao.
Finally, Pan returns to Sadao. She looks more careworn than ever. In addition to a little boy, there's an infant in a crib. "Whose kid is that?" Pan asks when he sees the younger baby. "His father was a dog," she explains. "They are all dogs." Pan looks around. A photo of Sadao's father is on the wall. He's died. The transistor radio lies in a corner, broken and covered with dust. The pretty blue blouse is faded and stained and crumpled on the floor in another corner.
There's a final musical reprise of "Mai Leum", with all the characters in the film putting in an appearance to sing the chorus. Sadao reluctantly accepts Pan back into her life, and breaks down, weeping profusely as the couple embraces.

Tags: melodrama, romantic, flashback

Review:
Beautifully crafted and original movie.
I picked this movie up because it was "Voted Thai best film of 2001" - though I had serious reservations about doing so when I saw the artwork, which makes it look like a terribly sugary romance.
I'm glad I decided not to judge this one by the cover, because what's inside is so much more than the wrapper would imply.Pan and Sadaw are two young Thai kids growing up in a rural Thai village.
Life is good - simple, but sweet.
The two find especially large amounts of good in each other, and soon become sweethearts.
They're very much in love, and Pan even bursts spontaneously into song to express this on occasion.
Singing is Pan's other love in life, and he's jolly good at it too.
That's the part of the movie that resembles the DVD cover - very sweet and idyllic, but done so very nicely it is genuinely touching, even to somebody with as little tolerance for romance as myself.
It lasts about 20 minutes As the voice-over observes, they could leave it there and have a very short but sweet movie that would have the audience smiling on their way to the exits.
But they don't - the story continues, and develops into something far more complex and dark.MONRAK TRANSISTOR is in some ways a debunking of the romantic idealism represented on the DVD case.
It reminds the viewer that life is rarely so straightforward and co-operative in the modern world.
The movie presents a far more realistic view of life and love, which makes it much more interesting.
It reminded me a little of the exceptional Korean movie MY SASSY GIRL in that respect (possibly only because I rewatched MSG just before it though).It is also very well made.
Writer/director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang clearly had a strong vision of what he wanted his movie to be like, and he directs it with precision and skill.
The characters are very well written, and brought to life by uniformly excellent performances.
Lead actress Siriyakorn Pukkavesh deserves particular mention - her performance is one of the best I've seen.
The movie is technically excellent as well - absolutely beautiful cinematography and soundtrack.
It's no surprise to see Nonzee Nimibutr listed as producer, as he seems to be involved with nearly all the really intelligent and high quality movies coming out of Thailand in recent years.The acting, cinematography and sound would be enough to make any movie stand out, but it's the story that really puts MONRAK TRANSISTOR at the top of the pile.
It takes the characters (and the viewer) in quite unexpected directions, creating a unique and original movie.
Nothing outlandish or bizarre happens - in fact the whole movie feels very realistic.
That's what makes it unexpected - things don't turn out like they do in the movies
I believe MONRAK TRANSISTOR is Thailand's entry for the Oscars this year.
I don't suppose it will win, because Thailand's movie industry isn't nearly important enough for Hollywood to want to grease its palms.
Hopefully it will get the movie onto more people's radars though, because I think it deserves to be seen.Strongly recommended!.
A Thai Pilgrim's Progress.....
Watched this recently with a Thai lady - we both loved this film, that starts out deliberately naive and corny and descends into something darker whilst retaining a degree of pathos.
The style of the film changes to meet the changing mood - the English subtitles are quite accurate, though some nuances are lost.
All round good performances from the main characters Worth while....
A comic Thai "Odyssey".
I just saw this film at DC Filmfest 2003, and found it to be slightly flawed, but still a very charming story.
I feel it was impossible not to like, although I see that some commenters obviously do not agree with me!
I had actually been looking forward to seeing this film for quite a while, and I regret that I knew too much about the film, which ruined some of what would have definitely been "surprises".
The story revolves around Pan (Phaen), a handsome village guy of about 20, who dreams of marrying his village sweetheart, Sadaw, and becoming a singing star.
Unfortunately, Pan also has a lot of bad luck....REALLY BAD LUCK.
Immediately after marrying Sadaw and getting her pregnant, he is drafted into the army.
What follows is a musical comedy, melodramatic soap opera, chase scene action, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink tale of Pan's adventures as he tries to fulfill the second dream, which seems to take him further and further away from his first dream (Sadaw).
While watching the movie, I was reminded of two classic tales of wanderers...The Odyssey and Candide...and anyone familiar with these tales will see the similarities as the male lead wanders the world (in this case, around Thailand), dreaming of his long-lost love (who sits despairingly at home) and meeting a variety of odd characters along the way (including Dao, a innocent-looking, promiscuous female singer, Suwat, his sleazy, gay manager, Siew, a poor migrant worker and a grizzled old policeman).
Monrak Transistor meanders off track at times, but it is always entertaining.
No matter how bad things get, it always manages to keep its sense of humor intact.
You also get to see a lot of what Thai life is like, and more than once i was reminded of my vacation there a few years ago.
The actor who plays Pan is somehow always charming and likable, despite what most Western audience would certainly consider some "f***ed-up" priorities.
The actress playing Sadaw is even better, although her screen time is limited.
I would recommend this movie to people who like an original story, and want to see a love story that veers WAY OFF the beaten path.
Though not nearly as good as director Pen-Ek Ratunaruang's earlier effort, the manic, fast-paced, 69, I give it an 8/10 cuz it is so damned likeable..
Siriyakorn Pukkavesh.
This film is finally showing in London, at the ICA.
It's not the greatest piece of cinema I've ever seen and some of the performances are over-acted; but I just wanted to comment that the actress that played Sadaw (Siriyakorn Pukkavesh) gave one of the best performances I have seen for years.
She was absolutely brilliant.
Thailand's Gong Li?
Wait 'til Hollywood execs see this performance.
It was absolutely touching and she shone..
You have to see it to get in love with it.
The title of the movie may be misleading for a person who is about to see the movie, but once the movie is seen, the sentimental value of the small radio player becomes much clearer.
The movie has been described as kitschy, musical, Thai soap opera, etc.
The very first opening shot of the movie will convince you that the image is the work of the true artist.As the movie progresses, the "art" slowly transforms into "life, and nothing but".
The pace, images, story line  - all reflect the slow disappearance of the "movie storytelling" and ever growing realism.
True, it is more convenient to see poverty through the wide lens with lush soundtrack, but this script superbly mastered the art of walking on the edges of all the genres without falling into any one of them.
It is a "must see" to appreciate superb acting, beautiful cinematography, very ironic, but never sarcastic, look at life of two young Thai lovers and the convoluted ordeals through which life (or was it the script author?
:) ) led them..
Pray, love, transistor.
This is an excellent film.
It is truly fascinating.
As the narrator of the film says in the opening scene: this is the story of Phaen (Pan), who is a good guy, but whom the gods, for whatever reason, chose to give amounts of bad luck.
In a sense, this is a very "black" film.
The film starts with a summary of Pan courting Sadaw, before the two marry, and Sadaw's consequent pregnancy.
However, due to his misfortune, Pan is drafted into the army, and from there, his misery continues.
No matter what Pan does, and no matter how nicely he acts towards, and attempts to do "the right thing", it seems that he is just pulled deeper and deeper into it.
He is pulled more and more towards the urban life, and the miserable conditions there, away from the romanticised peaceful life in the countryside, symbolised by Sadaw, and the transistor which he gave her as a token of her love, but which falls to the floor and breaks.
Throughout the film, traditional Thai music is used to describe what is happening, the most frequently used being a very romantic one, whose lyrics are "don't forget, don't forget"--words that give hope to Pan, as he suffers his misfortunes in the big world, because his fate is cruel, and has decided that his dream, although seemingly so close to being realised, will remain simply a dream..
best thai film ever?.
I saw monrak transistor twice and loved it.
Not many films can make you laugh as well as bring tears to your eyes but this one did.
You might not be so keen on this film if you are not a looktung fan, and I am an addict.
Even if you don't know the music the film is enjoyable just as a comedy.
Fun is poked at the legal system, record promotors, the well meaning rich and the poor.
Fate is the path our hero has to follow only to end up where he started, hopefully still singing-peter.
This is the 2001 best film of  Thai movies.
This is the 2001 best film of  Thai movies.
Pen-Ek did it by changing his style (from Ruang talok 69 (1999) and Fun Bar Karaoke (1997) ) to the native life.
This movie is the most SIMPLY than any movies he did, Full of laughs, tears and familiar with Thai Lifestyles.
This movie is for Thai people by Thai people..
Low-Class Comedy, What A Reductive Mess!.
The story takes on the adventure of a reckless guy who is away from his pregnant wife in the rural-area and seeks to become a singer in the city but things turns out badly (or funny?).
He goes through a series of unexpected events and finally returns home at the end.A lack of skills in filmmaking is obviously shown in "Monrak Transistor".
The music is somehow nostalgic, reminding me of the old days but the film itself has nothing to do with that feeling .
Predictable plot, poor adaptation from country songs to few musical scenes and formulaic ending make it totally dull from start to the end.
This film cannot lie itself exactly on what its gene is?
is it musical or drama?
I guess it's just a drama with some comic elements.
Is the stereotype of people livings outside a big city like Bangkok supposed to be funny in a sense?
Of course, there are many more ways to portray Thai country lifestyles than a bunch of unnecessary, pathetic jokes that only trigger your physical reaction from your stomach rather than your intellectual reaction from the brain.
You might laugh at some gags but later on you might realize that it is a kind of movies that are so bad that it makes you feel you should laugh at it.
This is one of the worst Thai films in recent years..
A stupid, terrible film!.
This is an old-fashioned way how a film is made.
The characters and the story are not what we can relate to.
They are totally dull and unconvincing.
Who cares about the pathetic jokes a guy putting himself in a difficult situation.
Just painfully waited until it ended.
This film is overrated and a big disappointment from Thailand..
Too Commercial?.
I went to watch Monrak...without having ever heard of it and not knowing what to expect.
It was enjoyable on the whole...but I felt it became a bit too commercial.
The courting scenes between Pan and Sadaw was beautifully executed and was tremendously realistic.
Siriyakorn Pukkavesh was delightfully brilliant!
I simply loved the song that he sings to her in the room (before the father comes to shoot him).
Visually, it was tasteful and well lit.But, I came out feeling the film was 'stretched' just to fill up the 90 minutes.Too many things happen to Pan and too many situations arise.
The "boat doctor' was totally uncalled for and didn't really add anything to the film.It could have been much better had it been limited to 60 minutes or so..
An interesting mixture of genres.
This film start out almost like a farce comedy.
We have a jester, there is an old man shooting a rifle screaming nonsense, etc.
It fades into a romantic story too good to be true, but makes a turn into dark social realism of poor Thailand meets rich Thailand.
There is violence and abuse, both drugs and sexual on display, very far from the silly humor the film started with.
Towards the end, some slow motion scenes like in an action film appears, before finally we reach the end, but the transistor (the symbol of the joyful start of the film) is broken and rusty.As seen, this film is a huge mixture of genres.
When I had watched this film, I asked myself: what was the purpose of this mixture, was the grim end a mocking of the joyful beginning?
Could it be that the ever smiling jester (Pan, the principal character) on his multicolored stage with his sugar sweet romantic songs, the idealogical cute Thailand, is mocked and stripped to the hard, poor, sexually raw and abusive Thailand as the film progresses?
Is this why the film maker mixes all these different genres in the story instead of keeping the form fairly fixed, that it in fact is the appearance that is criticized?
A lot of questions, but I fail to really answer them, because I am torn.
Sometimes I feel that this indeed is the fact, other times I wonder if the strange mixture is a failure of the film to put the rather traditional story of rise and fall (only in the setting of Thailand instead of Europe or America) in an interesting and challenging form.
I end up giving the film 7/10, but I recommend it since I at least was stimulated to think on the matter of film genre and how to escape, criticize and more deeply connect it with the story.