6ixtynin9 (2005)

This is one of those films where nothing is overly blatant, hardly anything is granted by ways of the lead character's internal character and history, and it isn't jam-packed with various sceneries, dialog, etc. Nothing is too 'in your face', hardly any emotion is shown or felt throughout the film, and even (despite the various killings), action seems to be lacking... It's decidedly quiet, introverted and monotone and YET, somehow completely quirky, insane and colorful at the same time. The film is intelligently crafted in such a way that, by the end of the film, you aren't sure WHAT to make of it, or how to classify it... Except you do know one thing; whatever you just watched, you know, in retrospect, you loved it. And even after identifying the fact that you enjoyed the ride, you still wouldn't rank this strange, ambiguous little film as your top film, but for that you just love it all the more. It's bizarre, zany, quirky, inane, insane, full of black humor and wit, and full of hidden metaphors and analogies not immediately accessible. You can tell when its over that despite its absurdity, within all the intermediary spots where much is left unsaid, the director has packed a good deal for you to think about, and clearly had some lucid, thought-out objectives for the film. An intelligent, unique little film that's a heck of a fun ride to watch. Highly recommended!

Although I watch numerous Asian films I believe "6ixtynin9" was the first Thai movie I have seen and I must say I was very impressed. From start to end it had a comedic "whatever can go wrong will go wrong" feel about it while moving along rather smoothly as a mildly bloody quasi action flick. The story itself wasn't overly complicated nor jumbled up like some Asian stuff tends to be. I could see a large group of viewers enjoying this nice little Thai surprise.The acting wasn't "lights out" but was effective and although the filming was mainly done in an apartment it moved around more than enough to avoid getting stale.I viewed the on the US version DVD and found the quality good enough but not top notch and it wasn't in surround sound. I would certainly recommend giving this film a watch but you might want to rent before you buy it.

I rented this without knowing much about it, aside from having heard the directors' name, and was very impressed.6IXTYNIN9 (the English title) follows a bit of a dark comedy/crime comedy formula, wherein an innocent makes a discovery (money or property) and falls into an uncontrolled succession of events that pushes them toward actions that defy their usual sense of morality. It's all handled inventively here, with slow pacing that builds remarkable tension (especially during the latter half of the film), and some very dry humor that always comes out of nowhere - I almost think it should be rented just for the hysterical 'manicure' scene ("What salon was THAT?"). It should also be noted that the cinematography and performances are dazzling from start to finish.This is the third Thai film I've seen thus far (the elegant historical drama 'Legend Of Suryothai' and Apichatpong Weerasethakul's remarkable, experimental 'Mysterious Object At Noon'); all three were completely different, but also excellent - I'm definitely on the lookout for more Thai film making it to the US.

None of my friends, here in Bangkok, said they like the film. My taste might be different but I think Ruang Talok 69 (the Joke 69) is really good. My reason is that it is a strong and good satire of life in Bangkok and the Thai culture. The Asian financial crisis in 1997, the boxer gangsters (they wear Muay Thai jackets), the rural guy who misses his mom, the sadistic wife, the obscene phone call, etc. all are somehow relating to real situations and real people here. You might be surprised to learn that in Bangkok there are a lot of actual cases of Thai wives cutting their husbands'..... eh, you know which part I'm talking about. These kind of things so weird and don't make any sense but they are what we face in our daily life. Thai people are so used to them that we sometimes forgot to realize how non-sense they are. So non-sense that it's actually funny. And it's great to see it mocked so tastefully in this movie. I liked this movie a lot. And when I read the comments, I was glad to know some other people liked it too.