“LOVE OF SIAM”–melancholy hope

“Love of Siam”

Melancholy Hope

Amos Lassen

“Love of Siam” (Strand Releasing) which at first appears to be a gay themed movie is actually more than that. It looks at and deals with the different kinds of relationships and acts of love between people and love in all of its forms. Aside from that the movie is about coming of age as the characters deal with their pasts and overcome grief. Family problems as well as the story of two boys falling in love are what we see here. Tong and Mew are forced to confront loss—Tong lost his sister while Mew lost his grandmother. The center of the film is the gay love story about two schoolboys who just happen to be gay. But mixed in with this gay love story is the subplot of family grief.

When the movie begins both Tong and Mew have girlfriends that they have difficulty in relating to and the guys also have very strong feelings for each other The actors are admirable and this multi-layered family drama has something for everyone. Although the film comes in at over 2 hours, I was not bored for a minute but was certainly aware that a little cutting would make this a tighter and more enjoyable film.