Hivos Tiger Awards Competition screening - review - CONCRETE CLOUDS (Pavang rak) by Lee Chatametikool

The financial crisis in Thailand of the 90’s and a father’s suicide are the setting and the trigger point of two brothers meeting again after years. The older brother, in fact, went to the state for studies and subsequently for a career, leaving his sweetheart behind. Now, after the father’s suicide, the younger brother may have to experience the same separation from his puppy love and be forced to go move to the States as well.

But there is a lot more that meets the eye in Chatametikool’s film. Here, the Thai director and celebrated film editor, fiddles around with many elements of conventional and even commercial storytelling to narrate his tale of general rekindling with life, death and one’s heritage by making use of a seemingly soap operatic structure. Love and the fear of regret or resulting melancholia is in fact one of the main themes in this film, which tells the parallel lives of the two brothers as one re-connects with the girl he left behind and the other is unsure as to whether he wants to follow in his brother’s footsteps.

Nevertheless, despite the romantic implications, the film never feels nostalgic but rather kind hearted and surprisingly genuine. A particularly honest final sequence comes to mind, where the man and the woman who once were lovers come face to face to talk about the past, and this truthful confrontation is as candid as it is hard hitting. Yet, some of the most interesting aspects in Concrete Clouds come from Chatametikool allowing himself to be freely inspired by popular TV shows of the time and reproducing some flashback sequences through music video scenes that break up the tension in an unusual and intriguing way.

There is hence a lot of romanticism and melodrama in Concrete Clouds, a film that is skilfully and carefully paced and that is able to keep a constant balance between real life and fantasy. Rewardingly, the cultural context is never forgotten and remains important throughout the film’s length through news broadcasts and numerous references. Yet, it’s fair to say that the character’s emotional and internal struggles remain the point of focus of Chatametikool’s film that overflows with humanity and genuine emotions.