Ploy

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Movie: Ploy
Thai: พลอย
Director: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
Writer: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
Producer: Rewat Vorarat
Cinematographer: Chankit Chamnivikaipong
Release Date: June 7, 2007 (Thailand)
Runtime: 130 min.
Language: Thai
Country: Thailanad

Plot

A married couple, Wit and Daeng, arrive from the United States to attend a funeral in Thailand. They have been married for 7 years (8 if you go by Wit’s recollection) and the tension in their marriage has slowly increased with each passing day.

Once they settle into their hotel room, Daeng decides to go down to the hotel bar to buy a pack of cigarettes. Daeng ends up having a drink at the bar and watches a teenage couple goof around as they are the only other patrons in the bar. After the teenage boy passes out on the table, the spunky young girl comes up to Wit and strikes up a conversation. Daeng learns that the girl’s name is Ploy and she is 19 years old. The girl is waiting for her mother to arrive at 10:30 in the morning. It’s now 5:30 am and the bar is soon ready to close. Wit then offers to let Ploy take a shower in his hotel room prior to meeting her mother.

When Wit and Ploy go back to his hotel room, his wife lets them in, but doesn’t hide her displeasure at seeing her husband’s unannounced guest. In private, Wit explains to Daeng that he just wants Ploy to stay for a few hours until her mother arrives. As the couple try to sleep in the bedroom and Ploy sleeps on the living room couch, all the problems that has been brewing in their relationship seems to finally come out into the open.

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Film Festivals

2007 (12th) Pusan International Film Festival - October 4th-12th - A Window on Asian Cinema
2008 (37th) International Film Festival Rotterdam - January 23rd-Feb. 3rd - Sturm und Drang
2008 (10th) Deauville Asian Film Festival - Features Competition - March 12th-16th
2012 (14th) Deauville Asian Film Festival - March 7-11, 2012 - Regard: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

Comments

Ki Jun 07 2007 11:54 pm Marital problems are a familiar subject in cinema that has been brought up in countless ways, but when that subject matter is taken on by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang you can surely expect something unexpected. His latest film "Ploy" contains that familiar subject matter and also features a similar cinematic style to his more recent films (Last Life in the Universe and Invisible Waves), yet the film still stands out for the unique manner in which the movie unfolds and the resulting revelations brought upon the viewer.

The movie is set in a upscale Bangkok hotel. A married couple, Wit and Daeng, arrive from the United States to attend a family funeral. They have been married for 7 years (8 if you go by Wit's recollection) and the tension in their marriage has slowly increased with each passing day..

Once they settle into their hotel room, Daeng decides to go down to the hotel bar to buy a pack of cigarettes. Daeng ends up having a drink at the bar and watches a teenage couple goof around as they are the only other patrons in the bar. After the teenage boy passes out on the table, the spunky young girl comes up to Wit and strikes up a conversation. Daeng learns that the girl's name is Ploy and she is 19 years old. The girl is waiting for her mother to arrive at 10:30 in the morning. It's now 5:30 am and the bar is soon ready to close. Wit then decides to be a good samaritan (or is there more?), by inviting Ploy up to his hotel room to take a shower and a nap prior to meeting her mother.

When Wit and Ploy go back to his hotel room, his wife lets them in, but doesn't hide her displeasure at seeing her husband's unannounced teenage guest. In private, Wit explains to Daeng that he just wants Ploy to stay for a few hours until her mother arrives. As the couple try to sleep in the bedroom and Ploy sleeps on the living room couch, all the problems that has been brewing in their relationship seems to finally come out into the open.

From there the movie weaves a distinctly Pen-Ek Ratanaruang styled expose on the frailty of marriage & relationships. What happens during the next 24 hours zig zags (or does it?) between reality and dreams, with the basic problems of marriage brought to the forefront : jealousy, envy, insecurity, loneliness and boredom. All these elements come together in a narrative structure that never reveals what is actually real and what is a product of one of the character's dream. When you think about it, this does reflect perfectly how people in everyday life unknowingly act upon their own insecurities - which manifests itself so well from their dreams.

If you watch a lot Pen-Ek Ratanaruang films you know there's usually a handful of insider jokes about the director's past films or about the actors in his films. In "Last Life in the Universe" a poster of "Ichi the Killer" was posted in the background of the library where Tadanobu Asano worked (Tadanobu Asano starred in "Ichi the Killer"). For "Invisible Waves" the female lead (played by Hye-jeong Kang) was named Noi while her baby was named Nid - the same names as the sisters in "Last Life in the Universe". This time around, in "Ploy", when the hotel maid opens a closet door, you can see the hotel room door in the background and the number on the door is "609" - a reference to one of Pen-Ek's earlier films "6ixtynin9".

Speaking of "6ixtynin9", Lalita Panyopas the main star from that movie, returns from semi-retirement to play the neurotic Daeng in "Ploy". Pen-Ek Ratanaruang did state that Daeng was written without any specfiic actress in mind, but after Lalita Panyopas was cast for the role, Pen-Ek wrote into the script that Daeng was a former Thai actress.

The more subjective area of the film is really where the movie shines and the fun comes about. The dreams that each of three main characters has reveals so much about the characters themselves. Daeng, being the jealous wife, dreams of suffocating Ploy with a pillow. Ploy, meanwhile, dreams of the hotel bartender and the hotel maid having a highly erotic encounter in a nearby hotel room. Probably the most interesting aspect about her dream, would be the manner in which the couple made love (lots of oral sex given to pleasure the woman). Finally, Wit's dream comes about in a nightmarish scenario with a worst case scenario happening to his wife. Towards the end of the film, the movie does take an unexpected turn into the thriller genre, but if you take a look at Wit's face during the final scene in the movie, the answers to what really transpired are explained there.

"Ploy" is a unique film that brings to light marital problems in unexpected ways. Part comedy, part thriller, part drama, and 100% entertaining, the film made me think about my own personal actions and how it could be related to any type of pent up insecurities. One final thought to leave you with - although "Ploy" is probably a common Thai name, there does seem to be a bit of wordplay with that title. When Wit explained to Ploy why he argued with his wife, he explained that their arguments often worked as a mechanism for the couple to become closer. When taken in that context, was it a subconscious ploy to bring Ploy up to his hotel room for that reason?

Ploy

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