Author Colin Cotterill, a London-born Renaissance man who lives in Thailand, writes the award-winning Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery series. This book, a humorous suspense novel about two Bangkok movie buffs, is a nice departure for Cotterill.
*****
Thirtysomething Bangkok residents Supot and Ali are friends whose prime interest in life is movies.
Supot is a lackadaisical mailman and Ali - who's in the midst of writing a screenplay - owns a video rental shop in Bangkok. In Supot's spare time he 'works' (without pay) at Ali's video shop....if you can call it working.
Usually Supot and Ali sit in the back of the shop watching and discussing films, about which they are VERY knowledgeable. The two pals extol the virtue of western cinema and western movie stars, and especially love legendary actresses like Marlene Dietrich. Conversely, Supot and Ali bemoan the lack of great Thai movies.
The video shop gets about 3 to 4 customers on an average evening, and one night - when a nervous boy with a penciled on mustache comes in, and in a fake deep voice, says the men at his snooker club want a couple of sex films - Ali and Supot can barely contain their mirth.
One day a homeless man called Woot comes by the video store with a box of old cassettes he 'found' (stole).
Ali agrees to purchase the haul for a few Baht and he and Supot proceed to enjoy the movies. Then a miracle happens. One of the cassettes, a Thai film called 'Bangkok 2010' - which neither man has ever heard of - is SUPERB. It has a compelling storyline, great acting, high production values, and so on. Moreover Supot falls in love with the beautiful lead actress, whose name is Suriluk....and who plays a character called Suriluk.
Supot is absolutely mesmerized by the film, watches it again and again, and tries to research the people involved with the movie. It's almost impossible to learn anything about the production, but finally, after going to film studios around Bangkok and doing some sneaky sleuthing with the post office, Supot manages to get the name of one filmmaker and an address for lovely Siriluk.
Supot writes to Siriluk and gets a response, which absolutely thrills him. In a roundabout way, Siriluk's letter leads to Supot and Ali embarking on an amusing excursion around town.
In any case, Supot is DETERMINED to meet Siriluk and find out why the movie was never released. Thus Supot decides to visit the actress where she lives, which is far away from his home in Bangkok. There Supot (eventually) learns what's what.
The main story is interspersed with scenes from the movie 'Bangkok 2010' which is about a fascistic regime in which the ruling ministers have a stable of 'minor wives' (prostitutes). Beautiful long-haired Siriluk is a member of the underground (a spy) who finagles herself into being a minor wife to a high-ranking Deputy Field Marshall. Suriluk's aim is to compromise the Deputy Field Marshall and harm the regime. These scenes from 'Bangkok 2010', which comprise a story within a story, are compelling in and of themselves.
The novel is entertaining, with engaging characters, scenes that made me chuckle, and a feel for the ambiance of Thailand. There's also a good bit of natter about REAL films, actresses, actors, and so on - which would appeal to enthusiastic movie watchers.
Good book. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4 stars
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