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Present Perfect thai movie review
Completed
Present Perfect
0 people found this review helpful
by kimco
Apr 13, 2021
Completed
Overall 6.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Simple, sweet and super slow-paced

Pros:
-Really pretty scenery in Japan with a chill, quiet and calming atmosphere to the film overall.
-I liked the natural, sweet pace that the couple get to know each other at.
-The actor for Oat is really charming and his smile is so friggin cute.
-Kiss scene is really lovely- soft and genuine.
-I loved Toey's Japanese friend Yumi- she was so charming and open-minded.

Cons:
-Not all that much happens tbh- I almost felt like it was in slow motion at times and was really tempted to up the play speed to 1.5x. The runtime is almost two hours (I watched this in two sittings tbh as I got bored after a while).
-I liked the bilingual aspect, but some of the English scenes scenes did feel a bit awkward/unnatural at times- which jilted the flow of some scenes.
-Not a big fan of the fact Oat took advantage of Toey while he was drunk when it's clear he got him drunk on purpose and knew he identified himself as straight.
-The ending sucks. I understand that this film is telling a common story of gay men who feel like they're constrained to fit into a society where they have to forego love for a straight marriage and children... But it is what it is- sad.
I hated that Oat pursues Toey from the beginning in a true act of selfishness as his last jilt before marriage. Especially knowing the entire time that he won't stay with him and that his girlfriend is pregnant. He just uses Toey and throws him away without even having the respect to say goodbye in person.
I dislike that him cheating on his partner is glossed over just because his internal struggle is something a lot of gay men go through. (I sympathize more with the hurt his partner would feel knowing someone married you for mercenary reasons but never actually loved you).
I acknowledge this movie isn't about me though and these things aren't perfect (and that's kind of the point of the movie). But this is not something I'd ever feel motivated to rewatch.
I really wish the movie finished with Toey rejecting the friend request and moving on with his life with a new love interest. I get it's "romantic" and melodramatic to "wait" for his one true love to come back (I know there's a sequel along those lines). But to me it'd be more satisfying to show that you should have the self-respect to move on from people who use you and find someone who truly wants to be with you.
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