MAN OF MANY STYLES
Life talks with eclectic filmmaker Nawapol ‘Ter’ Thamrongrattanarit, who is back with his seventh movie, this time a love drama
Always looking forward to the next year? Award-winning and well-regarded filmmaker Nawapol “Ter” Thamrongrattanarit is back, with How To Ting (Happy Old Year), his seventh directorial feature film, and a unique love drama about people who get stuck at times on moving on and letting go. And just like any of Nawapol’s other movies, Happy Old Year opened last week to very good notices and a string of mixed reviews.
“It’s about reorganising your house,” said the director earlier this year, when asked what kind of film he was making. The answer could make one scratch their heads with curiosity. Getting rid of things that you don’t need from the house, or those that no longer serve a purpose in your life, to make way for new stuff. And often, you may come across old stuff that is attached to old memories, even some painful ones like belongings that remind us of past relationships. The scenario could be one of the simplest things that could happen to anybody at any time, yet not many directors tend to make a movie out of that simple idea.
“This is perhaps what made my movies different from other films out there. No matter if I’m making a drama, romance or a comedy, the idea of interest, for me, usually comes from very molecule-sized things,” he said.
“I think most of my films are very realistic and quite dedicated to a certain, specific focus. For example, a man is figuring out a way to confess his feelings to the girl he likes — and that can already be a plot movie for me. I’m more interested in telling small stories in the process prior to the confession rather than telling the whole love story.”
Happy Old Year centres on the life of Jean (Chutimon “Aokbab” Chuengcharoensukying), a college graduate student who decides to convert her family house into a minimalist-style home office which was influenced by her time studying overseas. While reorganising rooms, she comes across many forgotten items that bring back old memories, including an old camera which belonged to her ex-boyfriend Aim (Sunny Suwanmethanon).
As some of the old memories prevent her from moving ahead, and in order to clear sentimental clutter, Jean sets out on a mission to return all these belongings to their owners.
No matter if I’m making a drama, romance or comedy, the idea of interest comes from very moleculesized things
The movie was shot at different locations around Bangkok during the fourmonth-long filming. But mainly, it has made good use of the small space of a townhouse in Pom Prap Sattru Phai district in which most of the film was shot.
“Having grown up in a Thai-Chinese-family townhouse most of my life, I think I know a thing or two about reorganising a house without having to do any research in advance,” he laughed.
“I usually do big cleaning at my house at the end of every year anyway. I learned that in order to have more space, you’ll need to get rid of unwanted stuff.
“Of course, there is stuff that is meaningful to your memories, and it’s hard to get rid of. Some of the stuff that I still keep in my tiny closet are some of the prop stuff like the blue hoodie jacket Sunny wore in the film Freelance. I still have that. Don’t know why, but I do.”
Even though it’s the third film on which Nawapol has worked with the heart-throb actor Sunny Suwanmethanon, the 35-year-old director said it’s never been his intention to keep on working with the star.
“We always have an audition and casting process before choosing our cast. I wouldn’t go to cast anyone only because they are my friends or I heard that they’re good actors,” explained Nawapol.
“I sat down with Sunny and had a long conversation with him to see if he has any element that is similar to the character in my head. And the same goes with Aokbab too. But I knew that she has great potential, as we worked together once in Die Tomorrow.”
It’s been seven years since Nawapol’s 2012 breakout debut, 36, a film that won him the New Currents award in Busan, which many movie fans said was the prototype film for Happy Old Year in terms of art direction, character development, and a protagonist who’s dealing with past memories and loss. “I can see the resemblance between the two movies. And I totally understand if they want to point out the similarities, but I can assure you now that there is nothing related between them,” he said.”
Since 36, Nawapol continued jumping among genres and styles, as well as low-budget independent movies and major-studio-type films, but each frame bears the instantly recognisable mark of being his. From his independent hits like Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy and Die Tomorrow, or his more commercially successful films like Freelance, and last year’s BNK48 documentary Girls Don’t Cry.
“I get asked all the time questions like whether or not my next film will be an indie or commercial. Well, it just doesn’t work that way,” said Nawapol.
“It’s not my intention right from the beginning that I’m going to do an art film or a commercial one. There are so many ideas running through my brain that I want to try out. But I know some of the scripts are worth pitching to a major studio, and some aren’t. Although I do feel I have a foot in both camps, as I have also worked in the mainstream industry in Thailand. I see them as different challenges, but today I think I can manage to jump between the two just fine.”