Wonderful Town

A subdued film about love in a town in Southern Thailand that was partly destroyed in the tsunami a few years ago. Ton, an architect, arrives from Bangkok to supervise the construction of a new building on the beach. The only guest of a Spartan hotel, sweet music eventually arises between him and Na, the hotel owner, a reserved and reticent woman who at first seems unaffected by Ton’s seductive attentions. But in beautiful scenes we see her listen to his words and touch his clothes with longing, and eventually she gives in to her feelings. For a long time Wonderful Town is exactly that: a beautiful town, love in beautiful surroundings, gorgeously shot, with an eye for delicate detail and exquisite visuals. But as the village begins to understand what’s going on, a thriller element is gradually introduced. A close relative of Na’s acts in a threatening way and during an outing the lovers are actually followed by a local motorcycle gang. The sweet love story is slowly giving in to dark undertones and the transition is masterly done by the film’s director and writer, Aditya Assarat. Using a minimum of dialogue, he lets the cinematic devices carry the film, elegantly having two strings on its bow. Upon its conclusion one also realises that Wonderful Town is a low-key story about the grief process, accompanied by great music by Zai Kuning. Wonderful Town was deservedly one of the winners at this year’s Rotterdam Festival. red.