"Reported to be the first Thai musical in 50 years, The Christmas Dream is directed by Englishman Paul Spurrier, and is an intriguing blend of new and old: a modern Oliver Twist that progresses from the country's northern hills to Bangkok, with old-school Technicolor trappings and emotionally lush showstoppers aplenty (written by Spurrier and set to an orchestral score by Mickey Wongsathapornpat)."
"With a Michelle Yeoh-like resoluteness but half her size, Amata Masmalai plays 10-year-old schoolgirl Lek, who is forced to flee after her abusive stepfather Nin (Only God Forgives' Vithaya Pansringarm) fatally beats her mother (Chomphupak Poonpol). Hitting the road with her one-legged doll Bella for company, Lek has only a strong moral compass to guide her to the new home she is promised by her mum's ghost."
"Spurrier's love of the musical genre is plain to see or, rather, resplendent, with the early rural scenes in particular bottling The Sound of Music's ruddy glow. The choreography often has a quickstep visual snap, the standout number breaking out on the financial industry campus that is Lek's introduction to the Bangkok rat race. With business hotshots cartwheeling in and out of a great clockwork cortege, it's the one moment where The Christmas Dream touches on the abstraction and sophistication of golden-age musicals."
The Christmas Dream is presented as the first Thai musical in 50 years, directed by Paul Spurrier with an orchestral score by Mickey Wongsathapornpat. The plot follows ten-year-old Lek, played by Amata Masmalai, who flees after her stepfather fatally beats her mother and follows her mother's promise to a new home. Lek journeys from northern hills to Bangkok with a one-legged doll and encounters picaresque companions, including a spoiled rich girl and a quack doctor. The film celebrates golden-age musical aesthetics with lush orchestration, Technicolor visuals, and lively choreography, though much of the music feels anodyne and the storyline remains overly straightforward and saccharine.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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