Kongkiat Khomsiri has been the most active Thai director at the Far East Film Festival. His works have been invited more than any other Thai directors – from his horror omnibus Art of the Devil 2 to his solo efforts Chaiya (2007), Slice (2009), and The Gangster (2012). Now he returns to Udine with his fourth solo feature, Take Me Home. After a four-year break, Khomsiri returned in 2016 with two films treating a single genre in very different ways. Khun Phan is an action-based horror film, whereas Take Me Home is much more family-oriented. The latter film in particular shows Khomsiri as a horror director capable of great complexity and craftsmanship.
A young man, Tan, lives in a hospital, helping with chores while trying to discover his roots. He lost his memory a decade ago and nobody has come to claim responsibility for him. One day a clue unexpectedly appears. Tan finds he does have a home. He determinedly gets back home where he meets his twin sister, Tubtim, who has her own family – a good-looking, warm husband and two children. But the kids tell him something is going behind closed doors: home is not sweet anymore. Suddenly Tan finds his roots entangled with so many painful and heartfelt secrets, and he can’t run away.
Khomsiri is known as a fine scriptwriter. Aside his own movies, he has also written scripts for Thailand’s top directors, including Wisit Sasanatieng. Take Me Home is one of the best of his recent pieces – a multi-layered, unexpected and painful masterpiece. The story intertwines three families who have lived in a single house – one is the family of the owner, a former dancer; the others are the families of Tan and his twin sister. Khomsiri disrupts them all and weaves them into one story surrounding Tan’s life – a technique that could easily turn into a failure if the writer cannot maintain a firm grip on the material. All of the characters are interconnected through Tubtim, and disasters haunt them all. The house is cursed: the closer he gets to the secrets of the house, the more painful and sinful Tan finds are his own roots. Take Me Home proves that art can be found in a genre film like horror – in this case, a melancholic and lonely piece of art.
Asian heartthrob Mario Maurer proves that he has grown up as an actor, more than just a star for young female fans. Since his debut as a young man in transition in The Love of Siam a decade ago, no other role has given him a better chance to prove his acting ability than Take Me Home’s Tan. Other veteran cast members include Peter Noppachai, who often appears in Pen-Ek Rattanaruang’s films, as the husband of Tan’s sister.
Other cinematic elements are embroidered with care and excellence: complex editing, artistic and melancholic at the same time, plus atmospheric cinematography and mise-en-scene. A must see movie for Udine this year.
Anchalee Chaiworaporn