Description

Malila: The Farewell Flower 2017
1h 34min | Drama | 17 June 2018 (USA)

Storyline:

A man returns to his old village to care for his ex-boyfriend, who has been diagnosed with cancer.

User review:

This is a story in 2 acts, that are almost separated from each other. Backstory: Shane and Pitch were lovers. Pitch left the village for the city, but Shane refused to follow. Instead, Shane married, saw his daughter die, and his wife left him because of his drinking. Now they reunite, with Pitch dying of cancer. Rejecting medical treatment as painful and ineffective, Pitch feels better when he creates structures of flowers and banana leaves. Meanwhile, Shane’s offering is to become a Buddhist monk, to build karma for Pitch to either keep him alive or to help in his afterlife.

Act 1 is the love story. Act 2 is Shane’s learning to be a travelling monk, following a veteran in collecting alms, learning to concentrate in meditation, and spending nights in the forest, frequently suffering thru rainstorms. It may make better sense to someone who is Buddhist, who can better accept a philosophy of the impermanence of all things, but I just had trouble emotionally connecting the 2 parts.

Director: Anucha Boonyawatana
Writers: Anucha Boonyawatana, Waasuthep Ketpetch
Stars: Sukollawat Kanarot, Anuchit Sapanpong, Sumret Muengput
Country: Thailand
Language: Thai
Release Date: 17 June 2018 (USA)