''I have been seduced by the wonderful Monrak Transistor and a folksy pop music tradition we've apparently been missing all these years. A simple tale of boy meets girl, boy gets drafted, girl takes up with worm-pill salesman, boy goes AWOL with an Elvis-impersonator manager and becomes a famous karaoke singer (stop me if you've heard this one before) this terrifically spicy dish is described by director Pen-ek Ratanaruang as 'a piece of candy with just a taste of satirical poison at its centre.' Swipes are duly taken at the Westernisation of Thai culture, but with such a lightness of touch that your heart still thinks it's watching a love-story/musical even while your head insists otherwise. A treat.''
Mark Kermode, The Observer

Awards

Asian Trade Winds Award (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang), Seattle 2002

Programme Notes

The notes for this film are available here.

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Audience Rating