Midnight My Love
Encyclopedia
Midnight My Love is a 2005
Thai
romantic
-drama
written and directed by Kongdej Jaturanrasamee
and starring Petchtai Wongkamlao
and Woranut Wongsawan
.
The film features a change of pace for comic actor Petchtai, who offers a sombre, dramatic portrayal of a taxicab
driver who develops a relationship with a young woman (Woranut, in her debut feature film role) who is working in a massage parlor
.
The film has dream sequence
s that place the characters in scenes that might have come from a classic Thai melodrama film of the 1960s or 70s, with a dubbed
soundtrack, which was a common method of filmmaking in the era.
driver in Bangkok
. A loner
, only seeks companionship through the melodramatic
soap opera
s and old-time Thai pop ballads
on his favorite AM radio
station. He's picky about the fares he takes, and those passengers he does pick up invariably complain about the "Golden Oldies" radio show he's listening to. For those few co-workers that actually notice him, he's a source of amusement, a luddite
who doesn't even own a mobile phone
.
He follows a routine that has him driving the cab by night and sleeping by day in his small apartment. He eats at the same food stall and orders the same meal each day. Sometimes he'll visit a ballroom where big band
music is played and there is dancing, but he always sits by himself and sips a Coke
. He also writes letters to his radio station, hoping one night he'll hear his letter read on air.
For part of his evenings at work, he parks his cab in a queue outside a massage parlor
. One night he picks up four "masseuses" as they are getting off work. Three of them tease him for listening to the old radio station, but the fourth, Nual, sits quietly, which catches Sombat's attention. The next night, Nual rides with Sombat again. She becomes a regular fare and the pair begin a friendship.
The homely, middle-aged Sombat thinks he and the beautiful, young Nual are actually a lot alike. In one of his letters to the radio station, he writes about the relationship and points out that he takes people to their destinations, but he never gets anywhere himself. And Nual, in her job, takes men to their destinations, but never to where she needs to be. She's stuck there, working to send money home to her family in the rural provinces
.
Nual is being pushed by her pimp
to become the mistress
for a gangster
, but Sombat remains a loyal friend and continues to ferry her home each night. The story starts to take a strange turn when Sombat is held by the police for questioning, and he misses his appointment pick-up time with Nual. Sombat has a dark past that he's never let on about, and he grows distant from Nual, which pushes her closer to the gangster.
, the World Film Festival of Bangkok
and the 2006 Deauville Asian Film Festival
(where it won the critic's prize) and Chicago International Film Festival
.
It was nominated (but did not win) in several categories for the Thailand National Film Awards, including best actor, best actress, best director, best screenplay and best picture. However, it did win awards from the Bangkok Critics Assembly, including best director, best actress and best script (tied with Dear Dakanda).
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
Thai
Cinema of Thailand
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited...
romantic
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
-drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by Kongdej Jaturanrasamee
Kongdej Jaturanrasamee
Kongdej Jaturanrasamee is a Thai screenwriter and film director. His screenplays include The Letter, Tom-Yum-Goong, Noo Hin: The Movie and Me ... Myself. His own films include Sayew and Midnight My Love.-Education, early career:...
and starring Petchtai Wongkamlao
Petchtai Wongkamlao
Petchtai Wongkamlao, , is a Thai comedian, actor and film director. He is best known in Thailand by his stage name, Mum Jokmok ; and is a popular Thai television personality...
and Woranut Wongsawan
Woranut Wongsawan
Woranut Bhirombhakdi , née Woranut Wongsawan , or usually known by her nickname Noon , , is a Thai actress in Thai soap operas and films. Her First lakorn role is Pob Pee Fa which is the scariest role of all her lakorn. She made her feature-film debut in the 2005 Thai film Choem , or Midnight My...
.
The film features a change of pace for comic actor Petchtai, who offers a sombre, dramatic portrayal of a taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
driver who develops a relationship with a young woman (Woranut, in her debut feature film role) who is working in a massage parlor
Prostitution in Thailand
Prostitution in Thailand is illegal, although in practice it is tolerated and partly regulated. Prostitution is practised openly throughout the country. Local officials with commercial interests in prostitution often protect the practice. The precise number of prostitutes is difficult to assess;...
.
The film has dream sequence
Dream sequence
A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
s that place the characters in scenes that might have come from a classic Thai melodrama film of the 1960s or 70s, with a dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
soundtrack, which was a common method of filmmaking in the era.
Plot
Sombat is a taxicabTaxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
driver in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. A loner
Loner
A loner is a person who avoids or does not actively seek human interaction or prefers to be alone. There are many reasons for solitude, intentional or otherwise, and "loner" implies no specific cause. Intentional reasons include spiritual and religious considerations or personal philosophies...
, only seeks companionship through the melodramatic
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s and old-time Thai pop ballads
Music of Thailand
The music of Thailand reflects its geographic position at the intersection of China and India, and reflects trade routes that have historically included Persia, Africa, Greece and Rome...
on his favorite AM radio
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
station. He's picky about the fares he takes, and those passengers he does pick up invariably complain about the "Golden Oldies" radio show he's listening to. For those few co-workers that actually notice him, he's a source of amusement, a luddite
Luddite
The Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life...
who doesn't even own a mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
.
He follows a routine that has him driving the cab by night and sleeping by day in his small apartment. He eats at the same food stall and orders the same meal each day. Sometimes he'll visit a ballroom where big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
music is played and there is dancing, but he always sits by himself and sips a Coke
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
. He also writes letters to his radio station, hoping one night he'll hear his letter read on air.
For part of his evenings at work, he parks his cab in a queue outside a massage parlor
Prostitution in Thailand
Prostitution in Thailand is illegal, although in practice it is tolerated and partly regulated. Prostitution is practised openly throughout the country. Local officials with commercial interests in prostitution often protect the practice. The precise number of prostitutes is difficult to assess;...
. One night he picks up four "masseuses" as they are getting off work. Three of them tease him for listening to the old radio station, but the fourth, Nual, sits quietly, which catches Sombat's attention. The next night, Nual rides with Sombat again. She becomes a regular fare and the pair begin a friendship.
The homely, middle-aged Sombat thinks he and the beautiful, young Nual are actually a lot alike. In one of his letters to the radio station, he writes about the relationship and points out that he takes people to their destinations, but he never gets anywhere himself. And Nual, in her job, takes men to their destinations, but never to where she needs to be. She's stuck there, working to send money home to her family in the rural provinces
Provinces of Thailand
Thailand is divided into 76 provinces , which are geographically grouped into 6 regions. The capital Bangkok is not a province but a special administrative area and is included as the 77th province since it is administered at the same level as the other 76 provinces. The name of the provinces are...
.
Nual is being pushed by her pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
to become the mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
for a gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
, but Sombat remains a loyal friend and continues to ferry her home each night. The story starts to take a strange turn when Sombat is held by the police for questioning, and he misses his appointment pick-up time with Nual. Sombat has a dark past that he's never let on about, and he grows distant from Nual, which pushes her closer to the gangster.
Festivals and awards
The film has appeared a several film festivals, including the 2005 Pusan International Film FestivalPusan International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
, the World Film Festival of Bangkok
World Film Festival of Bangkok
The World Film Festival of Bangkok is an annual international film festival held between October & November in Bangkok, Thailand.The 8th Annual World Film Festival of Bangkok will be held between 5 - 14 November, 2010.-History:...
and the 2006 Deauville Asian Film Festival
Deauville Asian Film Festival
The Deauville Asian Film Festival takes place annually in Deauville, France since 1999 and focuses on Asian cinema...
(where it won the critic's prize) and Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
.
It was nominated (but did not win) in several categories for the Thailand National Film Awards, including best actor, best actress, best director, best screenplay and best picture. However, it did win awards from the Bangkok Critics Assembly, including best director, best actress and best script (tied with Dear Dakanda).