Aug 29, 2007

Wiwille's movie reviews part 14

When Elizabeth asked me to review 6ixteynin9 I was excited that finally someone has submitted a foreign film. Most Americans don't take reading subtitles too well and they're too busy watching shit like Norbit.

The title though led me to believe this would be some sex farce comedy; however I was wrong. Yes I admit I was mistaken. It happens from time to time. Not often mind you.

6ixteynin9 tells the story of a recently unemployed girl named Tum who finds herself richer after a load of money is dropped in front of her apartment due to mistaken identity. Mobsters infiltrate her place and threaten to kill her, but she in turn offs them as they look for the money. As one would expect with a story like this more mobsters show up, more people die, and Tum is struggling to hide the bodies and properly dispose of them while keeping everyone in the dark.

This film runs the gamut of genres from action to thriller to comedy to drama. Every scene is carefully crafted and the photography is clever. All the support characters are hilarious and it's really tough to keep your eyes off this film once it gets going. Often times funny, sometimes tense, and few times surreal the movie has been more engaging than anything in recent memory.

There's one problem with recommending it though. Even though it's a critical success you won't like it. You whine about foreign films and claim a Michael Bay picture is all you need to satisfy your entertainment thirst. You sit there and try and make people believe Forrest Gump is a remarkable film. Yes you damnit. You make sure the demand for a special edition of Patch Adams if fulfilled.

Okay got a little carried away there.

I believe this is the first Thai film I've ever watched, but I may make an effort to keep up with the country's exports. 6ixteynin9 is quite possibly the most obscure film I've had to review to date, but it's also the best surprise.

Wanna see a film reviewed by Wiwille? Drop me an email or comment and you'll see it soon on Erik's Ramblings. Rules are posted here.

"Enlivens some dingy genre predicaments (dirty money, corpse disposal) with gusts of dreamlike whimsy and a sardonic take on local economic woes." - Dennis Lim

2 comments:

Miss Ash said...

Hey I like foreign language films Mr.

How about you review Tsotsi, it won an Academy Award, let's see what you think.

Anonymous said...

Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it! This was the jewel of SIFF in 2001 as far as I'm concerned.