After studying in the US, Ananda returns to his homeland Thailand, where he tries his luck as a film actor. When his friend and co-student Zoe visits him, the two perceive their togetherness as strange. When Zoe leaves, the production assistant May enters Ananda’s life. Aditya Assarat’s film is a stream of fleeting moments, encounters, and atmospheres. He follows his protagonists to the province, to the film set, to anonymous hotel rooms and to the Thai capital. He shows a world between languages, cultures, classes, between the film family and the production business. He seeks what is binding in that which is non-binding. Like when Ananda’s American friend Zoe and a hotel employee take a trip through the countryside, which is still marked by the tsunami. People come closer together by understanding how far apart they are. When Ananda looks at Bangkok he searches for the place of his childhood but sees a city to which he does not feel connected. Hi-So is a film about drifters, seekers of happiness and globetrotters. Here, the search for belonging becomes an atmospheric reflection and snapshot of today’s Thailand. (Anke Leweke)
Production: Pop Pictures Co. Ltd., Bangkok
Coproduction: Spicy Disc, Bangkok; Halo Productions, Bangkok
Screenplay: Aditya Assarat
Camera: Umpornpol Yugala
Cast: Ananda Everingham, Cerise Leang, Sajee Apiwong, Pison Suwanpakdee
Format: 35mm, color
Running time: 110 min.
Languages: Thai, English
