At the end of the summer season, a Thai movie "Grandma's Grandson" debuted as a dark horse. Within one week of its release, it has ranked among the top three in the history of Thai movies in the Chinese market. In the evaluation of netizens as "tearful high-energy early warning"

At the end of the summer season, a Thai movie " Grandma's Grandma " appeared as a dark horse. Within one week of its release, it has ranked among the top three in the box office history of Thai movies in the Chinese market. In the evaluation of netizens as "tearful high-energy early warning" and "huge stamina", the ratings have been rising all the way. With high reputation, high box office, and strong tears, why has this family ethics film, in which a pure actress plays the heroine, won the love and recommendation of many Chinese audiences?



"It is not a film festival film, but there was applause at the end of the film, and many people burst into tears. This is rare." Chen Xiaoda, deputy director of the Shanghai Vancouver Film Academy, told reporters that this "dark horse" did indeed perform "far beyond expectations." . At the same time, it brings some inspiration to local and domestic film creators. It is not necessary to rely on strong dramatic conflicts and high-value grand narratives, nor is it necessary to deliberately design and calculate some so-called sensational plot plots. Instead, it is necessary to focus on the true feelings brought by the small details in life. Emotional value can still be fully utilized. At present, some domestic films have been criticized for having suspended plots and being divorced from real life and the audience. This Thai film shows that "a small topic can make a big deal". Rooting in life and pursuing real details is the creative attitude that should be upheld.

An atypical expression of a typical Asian family story

An inheritance story that reflects the unavoidable "pain points" problems in Asian families such as empty nesters, patriarchal preference for daughters, and younger generations gnawing on the elderly. In "Grandma's Grandson", the elderly living alone have dignity and vitality first, and their expectations for the company of their family members are also complex. "Whether I am lonely or not, this is my life." This "Pearl Lady of Pulu Market" in Bangkok, Thailand, gets up on time every morning to sell porridge, water flowers, and make tea. She has limited social interaction but is content with it. Every week, her grandchildren would come home briefly, and she prepared solemnly, waiting for the weekly "mother" and "grandma" and other limited roles. The old lady is very measured when it comes to companionship. She doesn't even look forward to her youngest son returning home, because that means his life is not bad. However, her "paternalistic" strength can only seek comfort from others: after being terminally ill, she has nothing in front of her children. However, at night I dreamed of my parents and cried like a baby.

Disease has broken the fragile life balance of the elderly living alone. In the film, in the fourth stage of bowel cancer, children return home more often, which also brings about open and covert struggles over inheritance. Wanting to copy his cousin's successful example, his grandson A'an deliberately moved back to his grandmother's house, hoping to obtain a million-dollar inheritance through his care. How could grandma not know what everyone was thinking? She is also the second daughter of her parents. She took care of her parents all her life but received nothing. All her inheritance went into the pocket of her eldest brother. Inheritance distribution is the shackles of traditional families that favor sons over daughters. It is the inheritance and circulation of male family power. The new generation of "same surname" families is also growing. Lin Jie, an associate researcher at the Cultural Development Strategy Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Arts, believes, “The film mentions ‘sons inherit family property, daughters inherit cancer’, and details such as the expired food in the refrigerator and the absence of husbands of two generations of women illustrate the importance of poverty, frugality and thrift. , being harsh on oneself are all inherited by women; and men’s selfishness has also become an implicit critical sub-line in the film. "



Property is a way of conveying feelings between different generations of East Asian families, and the film's creative team has no intention of doing so." Say this shyly. But besides money, what else is there? The grandma left the house to her younger son who was unable to make a living, and left the "growth fund" she had saved for most of her life to her grandson. In order to pray for her frail eldest son, she never ate beef in her life. She most wanted to be by her second daughter's side, in front of her home. The red pomegranates I planted only belong to my grandson A'an... There is so much love that it is difficult to rank in the family rankings. Grandma is constantly guarding those past events that everyone has gradually forgotten. A'an's mother's words "giving is more important than receiving" , and also gave these women’s lives a broader meaning in the pain of sacrifice.

There is a hidden but profound main line in the complex East Asian family narrative: "No matter how I am, no matter where I am, even if I am about to die, maternal love, as well as the love of grandma and grandma, will not change. Everyone All the same." Usa Samekam, who plays the role of grandma, is a "pure" actor. In an interview with the media, he confessed that he "empathizes" with his role. When his grandson A'an sang a lullaby in Chaoshan dialect to his grandma, generations of family ties Here’s the series.

A narrative of family affection without “cultural discount” and against spectacle

“When people of different generations and beliefs come together in one home, it’s hard to tell who is right and who is wrong. That’s how families are. The purpose of the movie is not to tell great truths, but to go deep into daily life and let the audience find the answers themselves. "Director Pat Bonitipa said. Why did a Thai director born in the 1990s produce a work that moved Chinese audiences so much? Chen Xiaoda said: This film combines Thai local culture with a genre narrative, and the delicately portrayed characters reveal The atmosphere of the market finally completes the transformation of the character arc and the sudden change of the plot. "In fact, this kind of technique is also often used in the Thai advertisements we are familiar with. This film is a bit like a large Thai public welfare and family advertisement, which can make you burst into tears. Combining Chinese family life and thoughts on family ties, it will definitely resonate with a wide range of audiences in China. "

tells the story of family relationships and emotional flows, and the film makes good use of depth of field for narration. Whether it is a family restaurant or a hospital ward, grandma, children and grandchildren are often in the front, middle and back scenes respectively. The audience can witness the interaction between grandma and children as well as A'an's psychological process. . The soundtrack is highly related to the rhythm of the narrative. The piano music is the foreshadowing, and the sounds of violins and natural sounds appropriately echo the emotional fluctuations of the characters. The evocative details are accompanied by touching audio-visual expressions, which not only remind many viewers of their own past. Actor Ma Qunyao, who plays the grandson, told the media that "these characters are all in my family", which made tears "overflow" on the screen.

's win-win situation at the box office and word of mouth is inseparable from the film's excellent "professionalism". Director Pat is one of the creative team members. · Bonitipa and producer Gila Malikun have collaborated on popular works such as the drama version of "The Genius ", and they are the "gold medal combination" of Thai film and television in the hearts of Chinese audiences. In recent years, Thai films have gained popularity in the Chinese market. A good result. The anti-spectacular family narrative has brought more valuable enlightenment to the Chinese film market. Lin Jie believes that the expression of "Grandma's Grandson" is restrained and cold, and it is a restoration after seeing through the essence. It does not deliberately exaggerate. , shows the cruelty itself, allowing the audience to reflect on the problems existing in Asian family culture. “Many movies that advertise realism do not have the courage and depth of thinking to face life head-on. ” She said that only by leaving the “narcotic” artistic expression and rejecting the imaginary Dzogchen can we escape from the trap of “pseudo-realism”.

Source: Wen Wei Po