BANGKOK: A heart-touching Thai film titled "How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies" has garnered a phenomenal reputation and box office since its debut on the Chinese mainland in late August.
The film, also called Lahn Mah in Thai, or Grandma's Grandchild, has grossed over 100 million yuan (about US$14 million) on the Chinese mainland, with a rating of 8.9 points out of 10 from over 140,000 moviegoers on the Chinese film review platform Douban.
Apart from its success in China, the film has also been a hit across Southeast Asia, becoming Thailand's top-grossing movie of 2024 so far and the most successful Thai film ever in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
The phenomenal tearjerker tells the story of a young man who offers to take care of his terminally ill grandma as a "full-time filial grandson," hoping to inherit her fortune, but ending up discovering the true value of family relationships.
Many Chinese audiences saw parallels between the Teochew immigrant family depicted in the film and their own families. It moved them into tears and sparked a wide discussion of family ethics and social issues.
"The film talks about family relationships that we are all familiar with, and that may be the main reason why it is popular and resonates with people," Pat Boonnitipat, director and co-writer of the hit film, told Xinhua in a recent Zoom interview.
It was Pat's first time shooting a family-themed movie, with an initial script based on the other screenwriter's personal experience of caring for his ailing grandmother when he was young. The two writers spent two years polishing the script, adding more details grounded in real people and events.
The film is abundant with Chinese elements and cultural imprints, including the characters' Teochew dialect, Teochew folk songs, traditional decorations in the house, and the tomb-sweeping customs of Qingming, all of which make Chinese audiences feel connected.
"We put what's common in a family into this film, trying to let audiences of different ages feel their own life experiences," said Pat, adding that a film telling the deepest feelings in the heart, integrating cultural elements into the plot, and connecting people's hearts can transcend time and national boundaries.
As for the Thai-Chinese director himself, he said it is a special experience to make a movie based on the cultural elements preserved by his grandmother's generation and release it in China, where the audiences' feedback "far exceeded expectations."
According to Songpol Wongkondee, director of sales and international business at GDH 559, the hit film's producer, the popularity of the film in China is a testament to the successful export of Thai cultural products. Talat Phlu, a market in Bangkok's Thonburi district and the main filming location of the movie, has now become a popular check-in spot for tourists.
Songpol also expressed his hope for Chinese consumers to further understand Thai films via this opportunity, thus opening up a larger cultural market for the Thai film industry.
Chalermchatri Yukol, President of the film and series subcommittee of Thailand's National Soft Power Strategy Committee, noted that Thailand has long been a favoured location for international films due to its stunning natural landscapes such as seashores and islands.
He noticed that Thailand and China have increasingly close cooperation and exchanges in film and other cultural fields, with more and more Chinese film crews coming to Thailand for filming, and some films and series with Thai elements gaining popularity in China's vast market.
"Film plays an important role in cultural exchanges, and we attach great importance to promoting exchanges and cooperation with China in films. I believe there is a bright prospect for future cooperation," Chalermchatri concluded. –BERNAMA