Restored Asian Films

Ruen Pae (The Boat House) is considered a landmark in Thai cinema. It is a famous story that has been depicted on film at least twice, and the songs from the film are well known enough in Thai culture that folks who weren’t even born when the first film was made will sing along to the title theme.

The story is about three guys and the woman who comes between them all. The men, all struggling in early adulthood, share a floating bamboo hut on the river. The woman, Penh (Maria Jang), is the daughter of the boys’ landlord, and the likely fiancee of law student Jane (or how about Jayne?). The brash, alpha-male Kaew (Chaiya Suriyan) is a Muay Thai fighter. And there’s Rin (Jinfong), a singer. All the guys have an eye on Penh, and Penh clearly adores the attentions of them all.

The four of them briefly share some happy days on their boat house, fixing it up. Jane and Penh paddle a boat around in the moonlight. Rin writes a song with Penh’s help. Jane, Rin and Penh go to watch Keaw’s boxing matches. Rin and Keaw good-naturedly taunt Jane.

The story arc and the action are the key to this film. A co-production between Thailand and Hong Kong (the bodacious lead actress and the male singer are from Hong Kong, and their voices seem very likely dubbed), the production values are quite good for a Thai film from this era. The action scenes are a bit frenzied, but they have a lot of scale, being filmed in some stunning locations — on the edge of a cliff, one on a beach and another in a multi-tiered waterfall. The geography covers the length and breadth of Thailand, from Chiang Mai, down to Hua Hin, over to Lopburi. There’s a thrilling daylight robbery of some barges on the river, and a shootout between the police and the tigers in which Kaew leads a daring escape.

http://thaifilmjournal.blogspot.jp/2008/04/review-ruen-pae-boat-house.html