The overloaded Thai equivalent of one of those YA weepies where terminally ill teens scramble to fulfill their bucket lists before expiring at a young age, all-the-feels buddy movie “One for the Road” is determined to leave audiences both shaken and stirred. Your mileage may vary as director Baz Poonpiriya (“Bad Genius”) packs this concoction with a lifetime’s worth of romances, breakups and reconciliations; a cancer diagnosis; a cheek-tweakingly adorable kid; all sorts of overdue apologies; several family surprises; and one of those scenes where the music swells as someone’s ashes are scattered to the winds.
Seeing so many emotions squeezed into 137 minutes surely explains why Sundance Film Festival programmers picked this broadly appealing international selection as one of half a dozen films to screen on opening night of the 2021 virtual edition. Well, that and the fact it was produced by Wong Kar Wai, whose blessing gives this...
Seeing so many emotions squeezed into 137 minutes surely explains why Sundance Film Festival programmers picked this broadly appealing international selection as one of half a dozen films to screen on opening night of the 2021 virtual edition. Well, that and the fact it was produced by Wong Kar Wai, whose blessing gives this...
- 1/29/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The film was released in Thailand on 3 May 2017 to critical acclaim, placing first at the Thai box office for two weeks and earning over 100 million baht, making it the highest-grossing Thai film of 2017 so far. The film was selected to open the 16th New York Asian Film Festival, the first Southeast Asian film to do so, and lead actress Chutimon was awarded the Rising Star Asia award by the festival organizer.
“Bad Genius” is screening at the 27th Art Film Fest Kosice
Lynn is a genius secondary school student living with her father, who is accepted in a prestigious school on an academic scholarship, after she impresses the director with her wit and intelligence during her interview. One of the first individuals she meets is Grace, a very likeable girl with very bad grades. Soon, Lynn starts helping Grace cheat, in order for her to be able to participate in...
“Bad Genius” is screening at the 27th Art Film Fest Kosice
Lynn is a genius secondary school student living with her father, who is accepted in a prestigious school on an academic scholarship, after she impresses the director with her wit and intelligence during her interview. One of the first individuals she meets is Grace, a very likeable girl with very bad grades. Soon, Lynn starts helping Grace cheat, in order for her to be able to participate in...
- 6/22/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Kirsten Tan has hit it from the beginning, with her debut feature being the first Singaporean movie selected to screen at the Sundance Festival, where it won a Special Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 edition.
Pop Aye screened at Helsinki Cine Aasia Film Festival 2018
Architect Thana has run into his childhood friend, an elephant called Pop Aye, just at the right moment. The world seems to be passing him by as a landmark shopping mall he designed in the 90’s is being torn down, the young people currently in charge of the company he works for seem not to value him very much and his wife, Bo, seems to be distant, and less and less understanding. Thana decides to take the elephant back to the rural village where they both grew up and into his uncle Peak’s (Narong Pongpab) care. His journey away...
Pop Aye screened at Helsinki Cine Aasia Film Festival 2018
Architect Thana has run into his childhood friend, an elephant called Pop Aye, just at the right moment. The world seems to be passing him by as a landmark shopping mall he designed in the 90’s is being torn down, the young people currently in charge of the company he works for seem not to value him very much and his wife, Bo, seems to be distant, and less and less understanding. Thana decides to take the elephant back to the rural village where they both grew up and into his uncle Peak’s (Narong Pongpab) care. His journey away...
- 3/5/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The film was released in Thailand on 3 May 2017 to critical acclaim, placing first at the Thai box office for two weeks and earning over 100 million baht, making it the highest-grossing Thai film of 2017 so far. The film was selected to open the 16th New York Asian Film Festival, the first Southeast Asian film to do so, and lead actress Chutimon was awarded the Rising Star Asia award by the festival organizer.
Lynn is a genius secondary school student living with her father, who is accepted in a prestigious school on an academic scholarship, after she impresses the director with her wit and intelligence during her interview. One of the first individuals she meets is Grace, a very likeable girl with very bad grades. Soon, Lynn starts helping Grace cheat, in order for her to be able to participate in a school play that demands certain scores for eligibility.
Lynn is a genius secondary school student living with her father, who is accepted in a prestigious school on an academic scholarship, after she impresses the director with her wit and intelligence during her interview. One of the first individuals she meets is Grace, a very likeable girl with very bad grades. Soon, Lynn starts helping Grace cheat, in order for her to be able to participate in a school play that demands certain scores for eligibility.
- 12/6/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
A winner of both the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Screenwriting at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and the Big Screen Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, ‘Pop Aye’ was a hit with critics and festival audiences alike, and now has been selected by Singapore as the country’s Official Submission to the 90th Academy Awards. Kino Lorber has now released Kirsten Tan’s Award-Winning Pop Aye on DVD with special features including behind-the-scenes footage and trailer.
Pop Aye was released theatrically by Kino Lorber earlier in 2017, with a two-week run at New York’s Film Forum and engagements in key national markets including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle. International sales are by Cercamon, a sales company based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates headed by Sébastien Chesneau who is French.
This first feature of Kirsten Tan comes from Singapore but it takes place in Thailand.
Pop Aye was released theatrically by Kino Lorber earlier in 2017, with a two-week run at New York’s Film Forum and engagements in key national markets including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle. International sales are by Cercamon, a sales company based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates headed by Sébastien Chesneau who is French.
This first feature of Kirsten Tan comes from Singapore but it takes place in Thailand.
- 11/10/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Pop Aye screens Thursday, Nov. 9 at 9:00pm and Friday, Nov. 10 at 7:05pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival Both screenings are at The Plaza Frontenac Cinema (210 Plaza Frontenac St. Louis , Mo 63131). Ticket information for the Nov. 9 screening can be found Here. Ticket information for the Nov. 10 screening can be found Here
In “Pop Aye,” a successful Bangkok architect in the midst of a midlife crisis is reunited with an elephant he knew growing up. The two embark on a road trip to the man’s childhood home in the idyllic Thai countryside. Along the way, they meet a colorful cast of characters that includes a pair of nonplussed local police officers, a forlorn transgender sex worker, and a mysteriously wise drifter. As the encounters mount and the bond between man and elephant deepens, filmmaker Kirsten Tan weaves a strikingly universal tale in a...
In “Pop Aye,” a successful Bangkok architect in the midst of a midlife crisis is reunited with an elephant he knew growing up. The two embark on a road trip to the man’s childhood home in the idyllic Thai countryside. Along the way, they meet a colorful cast of characters that includes a pair of nonplussed local police officers, a forlorn transgender sex worker, and a mysteriously wise drifter. As the encounters mount and the bond between man and elephant deepens, filmmaker Kirsten Tan weaves a strikingly universal tale in a...
- 11/8/2017
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Singapore has picked Kirsten Tan’s debut feature Pop Aye to represent the country at the 2018 Oscars in the best foreign-language film category.
A tender but mysterious drama, Pop Aye debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for screenwriting.
Set entirely in Thailand, the film stars Thaneth Warakulnukroh as a down-and-out architect who is reunited with his childhood elephant and embarks on a road trip across the Thai countryside in search of their old home.
"Loneliness, alienation, the ache of nostalgia and the everyday absurdity of life infuse every encounter in...
A tender but mysterious drama, Pop Aye debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for screenwriting.
Set entirely in Thailand, the film stars Thaneth Warakulnukroh as a down-and-out architect who is reunited with his childhood elephant and embarks on a road trip across the Thai countryside in search of their old home.
"Loneliness, alienation, the ache of nostalgia and the everyday absurdity of life infuse every encounter in...
- 9/25/2017
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
At some point, you have to ask yourself: Am I doing this for my friend? Or am I doing it for myself? In Bad Genius, teenage Lynn (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) is faced with those questions. She's a top student in Thailand, so bright and promising that she's offered a scholarship if she attends an elite school that's a bit further away. Her father Vit (Thaneth Warakulnukroh), a schoolteacher and single parent since his divorce, is eager to see her succeed, and the idea of a scholarship is far beyond what he could have imagined for his beloved daughter. He dreams that she will qualify to attend a top-flight university somewhere overseas, and is willing to sacrifice anything to see that happen. Lynn, for her part, is...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/22/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Bad Genius Review Bad Genius (2017) Film Review from the 16th Annual New York Asian Film Festival, a movie directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya, and starring Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Chanon Santinatornkul, Eisaya Hosuwan, Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Sarinrat Thomas, and Thaneth Warakulnukroh. You don’t have to be a genius to understand the set-up to ‘Bad Genius;’ but it does help in getting to understand [...]
Continue reading: Film Review: Bad Genius: Smart Enough for its Own Good [Nyaff 2017]...
Continue reading: Film Review: Bad Genius: Smart Enough for its Own Good [Nyaff 2017]...
- 9/7/2017
- by Sam Joseph
- Film-Book
Jean-Luc Godard once wrote that all one needs to make a film are a girl and a gun. Kirsten Tan’s “Pop Aye” suggests that a guy and an elephant will serve just as well.
A kind of love story, the film introduces its interspecies friends via a modified meet-cute: Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh) drives past the pachyderm in question one night and is instantly taken by its majestic presence, not least because he recognizes the creature from his childhood. Its current owner assures the aging architect that this elephant has had many names over the years, but he’s currently known as Chang Beer — a moniker that Thana quickly reverts back to Popeye upon buying him.
Read More: ‘Pop Aye’ Trailer: A Man Finds Himself with the Help of an Elephant in Sundance Drama — Watch
Elephants, with their imposing size and gentle nature, are among the most cinematic of all animals.
A kind of love story, the film introduces its interspecies friends via a modified meet-cute: Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh) drives past the pachyderm in question one night and is instantly taken by its majestic presence, not least because he recognizes the creature from his childhood. Its current owner assures the aging architect that this elephant has had many names over the years, but he’s currently known as Chang Beer — a moniker that Thana quickly reverts back to Popeye upon buying him.
Read More: ‘Pop Aye’ Trailer: A Man Finds Himself with the Help of an Elephant in Sundance Drama — Watch
Elephants, with their imposing size and gentle nature, are among the most cinematic of all animals.
- 6/29/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Some men buy a Ferrari when they’re in the throes of a midlife crisis. Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh), the successful architect who’s at the center of writer-director Kirsten Tan’s wistful feature debut Pop Aye, buys an elephant. And although at first this appears to be an act of portentous quirkiness, it turns out that the elephant, Pop Aye—played by an elephant named Bong, one of three actors listed in the film’s credits—is the same one Thana grew up with on his uncle’s farm in the Thai countryside, and the duo’s long walk back to Thana’s hometown is not just a homecoming; it’s an act of penance.
Dissatisfied and feeling as though life is leaving him behind, Thana longs for a simpler time, one less beholden to modern conveniences and consumerist luxuries. The film takes a similarly leisurely tack, ambling along at...
Dissatisfied and feeling as though life is leaving him behind, Thana longs for a simpler time, one less beholden to modern conveniences and consumerist luxuries. The film takes a similarly leisurely tack, ambling along at...
- 6/29/2017
- by Katie Rife
- avclub.com
While much attention has currently (and rightfully) been drawn toward Bong Joon Ho’s Okja within the realm of human-and-beast cinema, Kirsten Tan’s Pop Aye is a worthy companion. Intimately canvassed and drawn with raw etchings of humanity and human error, Tan’s film is both a road movie and a buddy film, a familial drama and a study of the ever-evolving, industrialized landscapes where not everyone fits in. Through her insistent gaze on the human (and non-human) figures at its center, Tan never forgets why this story is being told. This focus makes Pop Aye a film that is heartwarming in its human-to-animal gaze, and yet crushing in its understanding of a human’s flaws.
Pop Aye Follows Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh), an architect who lives a somewhat dissatisfied life with his wife. There seems to be little love between them — at least not as much love as was...
Pop Aye Follows Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh), an architect who lives a somewhat dissatisfied life with his wife. There seems to be little love between them — at least not as much love as was...
- 6/28/2017
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
This first feature of Kirsten Tan premiered in Sundance ‘17 World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Its provenance is Singapore but it takes place in Thailand. It continued onward to the Hivos Tiger Competition at Iffr (R’dam).
The thrill of interviewing here in Sundance is that you see a film; you have an impression and while it is still fresh you meet the filmmakers without having much time for any research or reflection. And then you get to see them again as “old friends” when you meet again in Rotterdam.
As Kirsten, her producer Weijie Lai and I sat down at the Sundance Co-op on Main Street here in Park City, I really had little idea of where the interview would take us, somewhat analogously to her film in which an architect, disenchanted with life in general, being put aside as “old” in his own highly successful architectural firm and in a stale relationship with his wife,...
The thrill of interviewing here in Sundance is that you see a film; you have an impression and while it is still fresh you meet the filmmakers without having much time for any research or reflection. And then you get to see them again as “old friends” when you meet again in Rotterdam.
As Kirsten, her producer Weijie Lai and I sat down at the Sundance Co-op on Main Street here in Park City, I really had little idea of where the interview would take us, somewhat analogously to her film in which an architect, disenchanted with life in general, being put aside as “old” in his own highly successful architectural firm and in a stale relationship with his wife,...
- 2/7/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The 2017 Sundance Film Festival is coming to a close with tonight’s awards ceremony. While we’ll have our personal favorites coming early this week, the jury and audience have responded with theirs, topped by Macon Blair‘s I don’t feel at home in this world anymore., which will arrive on Netflix in late February, and the documentary Dina. Check out the full list of winners below see our complete coverage here.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Larry Wilmore to:
Dina / U.S.A. (Directors: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini) — An eccentric suburban woman and a Walmart door-greeter navigate their evolving relationship in this unconventional love story.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented by Peter Dinklage to:
I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Macon Blair) — When a depressed woman is burglarized, she...
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Larry Wilmore to:
Dina / U.S.A. (Directors: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini) — An eccentric suburban woman and a Walmart door-greeter navigate their evolving relationship in this unconventional love story.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented by Peter Dinklage to:
I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Macon Blair) — When a depressed woman is burglarized, she...
- 1/29/2017
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
When Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh) suddenly decides to walk with an elephant through the countryside to his childhood home, nobody seems to notice or much care. His wife, Bo (Penpak Sirikul), is frankly glad he’s out of the house, while the younger staff at the office mostly just want to know where his files are. Writer/director Kirsten Tan doesn’t fuss or overexplain these details, and quickly gets to what everyone wants to see: a man and his elephant on an unlikely journey.
Continue reading ‘Pop Aye’ Is An Engaging, Charming Road Trip With A Man And His Elephant [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Pop Aye’ Is An Engaging, Charming Road Trip With A Man And His Elephant [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.
- 1/20/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
"The city takes you in as quick as it spits you out." A trailer has debuted for one of our most anticipated films premiering at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival starting next week. It's a film titled Pop Aye, from writer/director Kristen Tan, about a man in Thailand who finds his long lost elephant and takes him on a journey home across the country. The description is so unique and this sounds so cool, that I was sold on it already, but this trailer makes it look like a "must see" during the festival. The film's cast features Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Penpak Sirikul, and Bong the elephant as "Popeye". I also love the poster they made for this (seen below), and I can't wait to see the scene it's from. Looks so awesome! Don't miss this trailer. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Kirsten Tan's Pop Aye, originally debuted...
- 1/14/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Sundance Exclusive: A Man And His Elephant Journey Across Thailand In Trailer & Poster For ‘Pop Aye’
The Sundance Film Festival is the place where films with unexpected and often charming stories find fertile ground to possibly capture some big buzz. And our exclusive trailer for “Pop Aye” is certainly boasting a winning spirit for what could be a World Cinematic Dramatic Competition entry to look out for.
Read More: The 30 Most Exciting Films In The Sundance 2017 Lineup
Directed by Kirsten Tan, and starring Thaneth Warakulnukroh and Penpak Sirikul, the story tells the unique tale of a disenchanted architect who bumps into his long-lost elephant on the streets of Bangkok and takes him on a redemptive journey across Thailand in search of the farm where they grew up together.
Continue reading Sundance Exclusive: A Man And His Elephant Journey Across Thailand In Trailer & Poster For ‘Pop Aye’ at The Playlist.
Read More: The 30 Most Exciting Films In The Sundance 2017 Lineup
Directed by Kirsten Tan, and starring Thaneth Warakulnukroh and Penpak Sirikul, the story tells the unique tale of a disenchanted architect who bumps into his long-lost elephant on the streets of Bangkok and takes him on a redemptive journey across Thailand in search of the farm where they grew up together.
Continue reading Sundance Exclusive: A Man And His Elephant Journey Across Thailand In Trailer & Poster For ‘Pop Aye’ at The Playlist.
- 1/13/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
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