2024 Thai Drama Challenge

Quietly, gently, heartbreakingly beautiful.

A masterpiece of economic story-telling. Rich enough to easily have been a full length film, but the acting and directing are strong enough and skilled enough to tell it through a few words here, a look there, and together that makes for a very powerful work.

It's 31 minutes. Just watch it, cannot recommend it highly enough.

Lovely wee series about friends helping friends with care and respect.

used for Thai traditional food challenge

Part of a Thai PBS series of two-part stories which aims to give voices to those not often heard. This one is from the director of Sweet Sensory.

Short film on bullying and violence in school, lesbian lead

Various things misled me into low expectations for the plot despite it having so many of my very favourite actors/actresses. It's both outrageous and outrageously good.

If you like Thai youth series and/or any of the cast, give it a go. Recommend it highly.

Deserved classic of a genre that's barely old enough to have classics :) Good intro to Thai and/or BL.

the 2nd straightest BL i've seen.

can't really count this as horror for the challenge. maybe count it for traditional music at the beginning? it's like they ticked some boxes to chase algorithms for views.

Editing, camera work and sound are at times as awkward and unpolished as the teenage boys at its heart, but these characters are ones I care so much about. I didn't expect to love it as much as I do. Perhaps better regarded as gay coming of age than BL.

adapted from a novel

supernatural-ish, adapted (there's a Japanese adaptation too but that's later)

maybe for friendship?

Goofy, clever, funny, warm and kind. Super-charged teenage emotions rendered as literal electricity and great use of manga that's integral to the plot. A wild ride and lots of fun.

used in challenge for actor  Punpun Sutatta

a lakorn's worth of emotions in two hours. i'm not sure how i feel about it all, will take some time to digest

remake of Korean film

now i remember why i don't do het rom coms

adaptation of Chinese novel; first love

difficult subject matter, gently, beautifully told

can't recommend this highly enough, Thai PBS

a strange wee story about loss, grief and love, wrapped up in a very fluffy chick lit BL and comedy at the expense of most (aside from the mums) of its women characters.

more depth than the packaging would suggest and that carried it through.

Slick US production felt strange alongside very familiar Thai humour.  A world where women are in charge but are still competing, not just for men, but men turned into celebrities for the sake of advertising. Good message about resistance.

DUEAN DUEAN DUEAN :)

short film, friendship, 3 high school girls, adapted from a song

Sweet, gentle, easy to watch as 4 half hour episodes rather than a 2 hour movie. Loved how truly women-centered it is.

Mini-lakorn with a gay romance. Maybe it was too short to absorb all the melodrama but I found some of this too upsetting. Less might have been more on that score. Didn't help that it reminded me so much of values I sought after in my own life, like community, love and real purpose. The setting is beautiful. I know I could never cope with Bangkok but maybe in another life I'll get to see Chiang Mai and the area around it.

Another from Nattawut Poonpiriya who made the quietly beautiful short film The Library. Here he turns a real life high school cheating scandal into an edge of your seat how is this going to end thriller that touches on morals, class and privilege without preaching.

Crammed full with every type of relationship and relationship problem, the density of pain was difficult through much of it. They pulled it off though, and without resorting to forgiveness that glosses over the pain to find their happy endings.

As important as meeting both partners' needs was to several of the story lines, I wish they hadn't fallen back on quick bangs as their examples for vanilla het sex.

For all that international fans will wander in for the gay romance, this is family politics lakorn whose plot is carried by strong women characters and brotherly love. The pacing and melodrama worked well for me, I found it exciting without being overly stressful.

Short two part, 'Space' comes first, 'Begin' is 2nd. Gentle, heartfelt, loyalty and young love. Very well done, from a crowd funded group.

4th full rewatch - thank you Carm :) - and this is back to the top (almost) of my list. Yes, there are things you can kvetch aboot but it's an emotional masterpiece, especially in its use of music, setting and lighting to cradle the characters', and ours if we let it in, pain. It is beautiful.

Another Thai coming of age movie with such a warm and generous heart.

The hazing may have been "exaggerated for entertainment purposes" but that ended up making it the romanticization of cycles of bullying, especially with the excuses made for it and the return to it in the last episode. It started to win me over when they let up on that and focused on what seemed to be the difficulties of being a closeted gay man, except they're only gay for each other. Singto and Krist handled the complex emotions of those middle episodes very well and the series could have been so much more if it had played to those strengths.

Good women characters and on the pain of unrequited love in general, although the het versions were forgotten about once they'd served their purpose.

The beginning is uneven. A 40 year old actor plays a 1st year uni student in flashbacks... it skips around so it's not clear if it's a bit of a ghost story or what's really going on. There's a brief touch of travelog for the Dan Sai district (Loei province, NE Thailand) and education about one of its customs. But as it progresses, it becomes a moving short story about forgiveness.

Well worth two hours.  (used for traditional costumes in the challenge)

Being generous, it's like they crammed the court intrigue parts of a Chinese historical drama into a 2 hour movie. I haven't seen a recent production which was so obviously filmed pretty much entirely on a set but otherwise it was pretty. All about the boys with a couple of token nods towards women's plights.

(For challenge, traditional dance, drums. Historic clothes, dance costumes. Some certainly Chinese not Thai)

When a 4 episode series takes me a week to finish because I want to hold onto it.... Will be going back to spend time with them again.

The emotions aren't big and dramatic, they're just very real.

(Challenge - filmed abroad)

Watched this from recommendation thread & because so many comments overwhelmingly positive. Inferior as a time loop, inferior as a medical/crime drama, inferior as melodrama, ok enough as BL for the short bits it was there but hardly anything special. High stress, most of it pointless because of the time loop, and the low pay off was stretched far too thin.

Joined the recommendation thread hoping to find some community, however small. It just pointed me to a crowded series page of people I'll never fit in with. Things I like are being made, there must be more than the one person I've found. But maybe not amongst people whose language I speak.

(challenge - fav support actor for Fiat, his Varit was one of the few positives imo)

Thin and vapid. They lost pretty much everything that worked in the Japanese version. Even the core lessons that those who look like they have everything have their own insecurities and seeing one's own value were diluted and caked in sugar coating. Or maybe the J-version was just as cliched and I didn't realise it. Sort of scared to watch it again after this.

One positive, Junior Panachai has skill with comedy and probably overall versatility. Would like to see his work with better writing and directing.

Set in southern Thailand, with much about their local weaving. I was in the wrong head space for the love that couldn't happen story line but happy to learn more about the area and craft.

(used for Arts in the challenge, although they may have had fine arts in mind rather than traditional)

13 minute short, beautiful for what it is; Mix and Earth in short trousers and big emotions

can't find a place in challenge

There's a raw vibrancy to this that shines through, especially as it explores emotions and vulnerability in the second half.

2018, set the bar high and perhaps it's been exceeded by a few that followed, but well deserves its reputation. A few less characters would have let it be a bit tighter and integrate them into each others' focus episodes more.

Great character for Force and I really liked how they'd just revert to 10 year olds in the early episodes. Would be good as a stay in bed sick watch when too ill to complain about the plot holes. I'm just going to pretend the last two episodes didn't happen though, cause Theo was a twat for most of it and the story ramped that up too far to pass off as poor writing.

Kind, slightly goofy, greenest of green flags Force is a very good Force and that's the reason to watch this.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this. It's intentionally disorientating and one to think about.

not sure where to put in challenge

GL webseries; pressure to (fake) date/refusal to accept no & misunderstandings take up most of this

Awkward and endearing, fun and quirky but it wasn't something I'd call emotionally satisfying until suddenly it was. Glad I didn't drop it, feels like it might be one that stays with me for awhile. Didn't expect that.

Watched it slow this time, cause life. It's best binged IMO but still excellent. Piploy is a shapeshifter. I am convinced of this.

Geez, this is getting poor reviews... sounds like one I'll struggle with... watch it at some point for the cast? Oh, someone whose opinion I generally trust really likes it? May as well give it a go. 

It's a clear critique of toxic masculinity and homophobia, wrapped in laugh out loud comedy that gently or boldly calls out bad behaviour time after time,  wrapped in lakorn which continues the call outs. It is so good.

Curious mix of lakorn and rom com with some annoying tropes lightly portrayed with fluff that's saved by being more kind than sugar. It's an odd experience. Puppy love (there are literal puppies) x true love in apparently virginal never been in love before 30 year olds, which contributes to the infantalising of the successfully self-employed FL. So many contradictions but it always comes back to love and acceptance.

Pared down story of a family - a young boy and his two dads - and the difficulties society puts on them because they are different. It's emotions more than plot, delicately told.

Nattawut Poonpiriya is a master of the short film. It's 44 minutes. It's on youtube. It is well worth some of your time.

What the hell did I watch? :D :D :D Came up in algorithms with Eng subs so gave it a go. Strange enough it kept my attention. It's like a mythical CGI trippy boy's adventure or something. Some of the speaking is slow and clear enough it might be good for trying without subs if language skills sufficient.

Sweet story about a young boy who falls in love with Khon traditional dance

Cute youth series about first love, growing up, and seeing your own worth.

The growth of a relationship built on what comes to be the deepest trust, kindness and understanding.

Earnest PBS lakorn on using the law to fight corruption, both idealistic and aware of realities.

Thai series can have such a gentle way with difficult emotions and they did it very well in this.

Puppy swagger and high school vulnerability. Stands alone without JFL.

Flawed retelling (from 2nd char's POV) and continuation of Love at First Sight.

Sweet with great scenery in the north of Thailand. I'd like to know where to understand how cold they think cold is :)

Collection of shorts using coffee styles as metaphors for a range of relationship situations, all set in Boy's coffee shop. Pleasant and good messages but made me miss Ghost Host Ghost House :)

Goofy Thai humour mixed with perfectly set up jump scare ghosts but never too scary mixed with a sweet friendship/love story, breath-taking tropical forest settings, great music and a female lead who wears glasses.

Keep watching for the behind the scenes too.

Intentionally, artistically confusing. Needs all your concentration to try to follow it, not one to watch casually. In the end, it's very moving but getting there can be a bumpy ride.

Things unsaid...

I still adore this one.

So much respect for all involved. Excellent youth lakorn and one of the best I've seen anywhere. Good messages, great writing and directing and the job these young actors have done here.

Aom Sushar carries this with her playfulness and warmth. Everything is over the top so the outlandish plot works.

It's all emotion.

Thai series can go deep with emotions and cradle them so gently. This doesn't. There is much sadness. There is comfort. But for the most part they're separated into different parts of the story and that doesn't work so well for me. Perhaps if I had seen this earlier, everything in it has been done better imo elsewhere, but then perhaps the lakorn in it might have been too much.

The first 2/3rds of this takes the oppressive school ensemble format up several notches, both in quality and intensity. The focus sections for individual characters are especially well-integrated, which is something given the size of the cast. Characterisation and acting are excellent.

The final 1/3rd increases tension tighter and tighter and tighter, which most will love, but it was too much for me. I finished it but whatever it is in my brain that seeks to limit this kicked in and I lost immersion. I know there were reconciliations but not how for many of them. It was too much.

The first 2/3rds are so gentle and heartfelt with a quiet substance. It lost some of that gracefulness from ep 14 as it leant into lakorn and symbolism. I like where they went with it but the getting there could have been handled better.

But it's still a kind, caring and gentle story about kind, caring and gentle people taking care of each other and learning to value themselves, imperfections and all.

The sweetest coming of age movie with teenage girls figuring out themselves and their love.

Wild ride of a gay romance lakorn with tone shifts to give you whiplash. Tragic violence, casual violence, devilish grins, so many men beating each other up, moralising spelled out in neon lights, a toy piano love theme that drains their meaningful looks of poignancy, a great lesbian side couple, a grandma to equal Matalada's Fern, this thing is all over the place. Probably best to binge to let the energy carry it. Just don't think about it too much.

No subs and my rudimentary Thai helped but only so far, especially where conversation happened online. The story line and emotions were still clear. It's a familiar and poignant story.

The first and last episodes are a taste of what could have been. The rest...? Let's just say it had far too much of the kinds of women characters I try to avoid in het dramas x 4.

The end was satisfying. It was just the getting there that let it down.

Simple story of an arranged marriage which becomes a gentle, wholesome romance. With a ghost, a few mild jump scares and a sprinkling of a certain type of comedy. It takes its time to get there. I quite like it.

Starts as a light lakorn and becomes progressively more substantial; the last two episodes were worth all the nonsense that came before. Also now I understand how sensual a sniff kiss can be.

The beginning will fill your bingo card of tropes. It's OTT and fun, especially with the cute kid and feisty gran. The middle drags, like they used up all the plot in the first five episodes. The end ramps up the cruelty and its violence goes brutal. The romances weren't enough to make the stress worthwhile. I've had good luck with lakorns until now but this wasn't for me.

Sometimes the brevity of a short film telling a familiar story carries stronger emotions exactly because it's not weighed down with details. This is one, structured as a short web series, with two stories and four very young, very familiar faces.

Begins and ends as light, fan service comedy centered around developing friendships, found family, grief, the complications of parents, and facing your fears with the support of others. There's substance, frivolity, a touch of lakorn and a lot of warmth.

Slice of life around a class of 8-9 yos and their unconventional teacher. Set in a village near the Cambodia border during the 1970s with the Cambodia war and student protests in Bangkok in the background. Subtitles need editing but can mostly be figured out if you understand a few things about Thai language. Highly recommended. Thai PBS

I really rather loved this. Had guessed that a far-fetched plot cast with Nanon and Namtan would have substance too and this certainly did. Less a love triangle and more a complicated situation with young people finding the best way through it. The depth of the many varied friendships which developed too.
The music video is the props and costume departments and Nanon playing in their collective dressing up box and having a lot of fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uf2XsSJwcc  The humour in the series is in the same vein with all of its self-aware winks and refusal to take itself seriously. Until it does.
Because anything cast with Namtan and Nanon and Milk in main roles won't be throw-away.

It's not perfect but I still love it.

Cute concept, uneven writing, Cher and Gun being themselves in each other's roles had some entertainment value. At its heart a good message.

Unsatisfying and insubstantial though, like fast food that leaves you hungry an hour later. Kept forgetting I'd already seen my two hours of telly for the day.

... which is how I ended up rewatching The Eclipse, thinking it was one I would binge. It isn't any more, especially the first 7 or so episodes (which is how I ended up watching The Eclipse and Moonlight Chicken concurrently, which was interesting :) It was always entirely about these very vulnerable boys for me, but knowing the "mystery" and having a year of Thai series and some lakorn in my head made it easier to really focus on the sensitivity the main actors brought to their roles. Khaotung and Neo especially this time. The way Ay fought so hard to help Akk break through the barriers he had made within himself, such a good consent scene, seven boys coping in their different ways with being 18 and gay. Ignore the distractions and there is a lot of substance.

that hurt

Low budget and really creepy. Now to watch something different so I'm not haunted.

They must have had so much fun making this.

This may be one of those sorts of films which can either be profound, hollow or anywhere in between depending on what the viewer chooses to add to it.
I wanted to learn more but there wasn't enough context for what I was seeing other than things like tourism changes and pollutes the natural world. Were the interviews real or scripted? Who knows. Ethnofiction, experimental film.

6 minutes of an chirpy actress before and after surgery for a brain tumour with a focus on how changing her hair colour and style changes her inside as well, which turns out to be sponsored by a hair products company. (My quest for an actual documentary continues...)

Just what I needed. First two episodes are comedy/spoof lakorn, before it shifts into more of a light romantic lakorn. Short and easy to watch with obvious but good messaging. Not sure if it would hold up to rewatching but otherwise a good comfort series.

Found whilst searching for something to fill Elemental on the TDChallenge so went into it knowing next to nothing. Start is violent, with a gang bullying a village. Some of the horror is accompanied by humour. Some effects aren't great. But then near the end I was completely absorbed despite all these things taking me out of it. Not sure what to make of it overall.
More a tragedy with supernatural and horror elements than proper horror.

Fuck that was stressful. Boys fighting. Boys shouting. Captain shouting orders and punishments. Hazing punishments (aka "training"). Boys getting drunk. In all of that a BL. Channel 3's  obviously faked fight scenes but not the pacing of a good lakorn to give it some lift.
Serial killer plot like I've had more than enough of  with UK/European crime dramas, combined with melodrama exaggeration (including the torture porn scene) which just piled on stress.
I'm bored through a lot of it and don't see what everyone else is so excited about. Had it in my head it was only 8 episodes so I was going to plow through but add another 4 on top of that? Finished it to get it over with. There were parts I probably would have liked without the cop/crime violence and C's abusive possessiveness.
I really don't fit in with BL circles anywhere. As if I ever did.

Dated humour but underlying it a sweet story. Ghosts but not really horror. On YT as I.C.U: Ghost College of Fine Arts

The slow burn of this really worked for me. By the time it became too much to bear I was too hooked to stop.
Rarely get on with mockumentaries but this is more like these things were happening while some people are there making a documentary. It was also an effective way of bridging the gap between the explanations needed for outsiders and it all being very real for those involved. Much respect for how skillfully they developed this story.

Only watched this because it was short, light and the series 2 OST by Gunachi is enough of a favourite I wanted to meet the characters. My expectations weren't high and some comments indicated things in the couples' dynamics I'd be uncomfortable with. Both of the seniors are over-confident and not great in self-awareness, but that drives the FL away and progress is only made in their evolving friendship when the ML is kind and attentive to her needs. She has her own strength and isn't a push over. I liked their dynamic a lot.
In the BL, Off's trademark clueless bit of a jerk character is balanced by his vulnerability from feelings he doesn't understand. I would have liked it better if Gun's character had been given some of the backbone we see in the FL but this was a far cry from Khai's treatment of Third.
All in all, it's a solid little series with good moments of emotion and substance.

Found family of dogs helping each other.  Fun, endearing, it even made me teary <3
This will be my annual rewatch to see how much more Thai I've picked up

I don't get on with characters who shift between controlling anger and love bombing to begin with, but mostly managed to set that aside because everything about this series was so insubstantial. Lazy plotting made for some messed up dynamics in the relationships. It seemed like the middle was alright, but then we find out how early someone knew something. His deceit was never commented on. Went downhil badly & rushed everything under the rug for the happy endings. (Spoilers hidden in my List comments.)
Most entertaining bit was Pon channeling Book Kasidet's Cher for this character. That was more fondness for Cher than this mess.

Really loved this, even if some of the reasons for break-ups hit close enough to home I had to set it aside for a bit. Full of friendship and hope.

Atmospheric and heartbreaking. Tension and tragedy more than horror.

A medium-length horror padded out with two unrelated shorts, awkward framing and a lot of violence. Central characters from Singapore, Indonesia, and S Korea. Much dialogue in English.

Rich, layered, symbolic, and also very real. One to watch carefully and return to.

They pile a whole lot of story in two hours, which means they had to make key developments of the middle choppy and some of those developments felt ungrounded. Probably would have gotten on better with it if I'd known it was a two hour lakorn going in. New is sweet and baby, Chef Khram with less hair was a surprise. Mint is one to look for again.

Reality programme with four young people traveling around Thailand (including Chiang Mai and Phuket) and taking part in different activities. Channel 3 with hard-coded English subs. Each episode in 2 parts, was good for when my brain wasn't settled enough for a series.

Great OST, soulful Singto, jaded old before his time teenage Nanon, Ploypach playing a dark side, June and Puimek, a messy messy plot that  doesn't redeem itself and isn't as deep or poignant as it seems to want to see itself. Am interested in the Hong Kong movie this "adapted" though. Probably best to give it some time because I suspect this will feel like not just a waste of the actors' talents but of the original story as well.