October Sonata

At its initial look, October Sonata seems to offer a scent of Korean melodrama based on the 15-year span of destiny-play-a-trick love between a leftist teacher and an illiterate-turned-novelist girl. But for the Thai audience, this is a nicely-crafted and -penned film that interweaves important events in Thai cinematic and political history in the 1970s incidents - the death of legendary movie star, and two leftist student protests that brought down military dictatorship. October Sonata was developed in such a subtle way that it won best picture, director, script from most of the local film awards this year. On October 8th, 1972, at a funeral of the legend Mitr Chaibancha, a young girl is exhaustedly staggering through the waves of people. In the rain, she bumps into a car, and then faints. The driver is on his way to Cholburi Province, in which she immediately joins him. But her home is not there. She merely wants to see where the movie star has died.( The actor Mitr Chaibancha was the most famous star in Thailand. He accidentaly fell down from a helicopter during the shooting of is last film The Golden Eagle, which Wisit sasanthieng is remaking into The Red Eagle, set to be 30th commemoration of is death on October 7th this year). Their loves start then. As he is about to leave Thailand the next morning to further his education in the West, they promise to meet each other again on October 8th two years later when he is expected to finish his degree. But destiny and political circumstances prevent them. When they reunite years later, she is already married, and he is committed to political activities. It takes about a decade that their love would end in peace, but perhaps in a memory.
Note: Thai political history is shaped by two key events in the 1970's, collectively kmow as the "October student incidents". First was on October 14th, 1973 when, for the first time, university students led mass protests against the ruling military junta and gained transition to civilian rule. But the instability of the democratic gevernments and thefall of comunism started propaganda war against student liberalism, culminating in a bloody suppression of the student protests on October 6th 1976 in which a great number of students died while others fled into the jungle to avoid being brandes as "Communists". Thereafter, Theiland returned to military rule and the details of boath events never recived official clarity. There was only been one film on these events, the Moonhunter (Bandit Ritthakol, 2000), on the life a former student protest leader.
October Sonata is a small masterpiece with a lot of hidden depiction of Thai society in the 1970s - known as the “soul-searching” era. Such pop culture like songs, literature, theatres played an important role to shape the new generation, which can be seen through the character development of Saengchan the lead protagonist. From an illiterate 18-year-old girl, she starts to go to adult education classes, so that she could read the book given by the man she loves, before growing up to be a novelist for the poor. (It is said that this character is influenced by a true female novelist Sri Daoruang). Actress Ratchawin who won the best national film award last year for The Last Love, made it well as an innocent girl who transforms herself into a liberate woman. Pitsanu Nimsakul also captures the audiences with his role as a Chinese immigrant dedicated to a woman he loves. Director Somkiat keeps almost everything in hands, aside the acting. Production design and costume, stand out with superb beauty and realist objectives. The settings are developed from nice, lively to the rotten, sad, but hopeful enactment. Music also supports the rise and fall of this classic love story. The more you watch the film, the more you like it. If you also want to see Thailand during the critical time and underdevelopment, October Sonata is the right choice.