GTH has been dek naew ever since it popped onto the film scene seven years ago. So, instead of waiting to celebrate their 10th anniversary, they jumped the gun by a few years, coming up with Seven Something as a way to celebrate seven years in the business. And audiences need not fear a seven-year itch, as this is without doubt one of the best Thai rom-coms in recent years.
The massive undertaking sees three directors given the task of telling stories related to significant seven-year periods in different people’s lives. The first part, helmed by Pawin “Golf” Phurijitpanya, is the story of two 14-year-olds, Puan (Jirayu “Kao” Laongmanee) and Milk (Sutatta “Pun Pun” Udomsilp). A young couple, their relationship becomes strained when Puan insists on showing off his love life via Facebook and YouTube. Needless to say, his girlfriend isn’t best pleased.
The next part, directed by Adisorn “Ping” Treekasem (Bangkok Traffic Love Story), focuses on the period from 21-28 years of age, telling the story of Jon (Sunny Suwanmethanon) and Mam (Chris Horwang), a former on-screen and real-life couple. Mam, now a struggling actress, tries to rekindle the good feelings between the two in order to win a role in the sequel of the film in which they previously starred. But Jon has already resolved to turn his back on the entertainment industry to work at an aquarium, and he doesn’t want her in his life.
The final story, titled “42.195,” directed by Jira “Keng” Malikul, follows a TV anchor lady (Sukwan Bulakul) as she tries to recover from the pain of losing her husband in a tragic plane crash. While she has promised not to marry again, she finds herself drawn to a mysterious young man (Nichkhun Horvejkul) who inspires her to participate in a marathon in the hope that it will bring a positive change to her life.
It’s a real bonus getting to see three such well-crafted stories with just the one ticket (though we were not too impressed with the transition from one to the next with the screen just going black). Though all were enjoyable, the opening story was the one that really captured our hearts. The fast-paced storyline combined with some innovative editing from Pawin (who’s best known for directing ghost flicks) made for a highly engaging tale. While the other two parts didn’t throw up too many surprises, they still did enough to keep us interested. “42.195” is the more interesting, with Keng choosing to employ a mystery third-person narrator to talk us through proceedings. Sure, it’s a bit annoying hearing Nichkhun mumble every time he speaks, but we’ll let him off seeing as he looks as lovely as always. One thing’s for sure, a lot can happen in seven years—and GTH is proof that aiming high can clearly pay off.