Braving Hollywood’s Goliath releases, like the game-turned-movie Warcraft and Jodie Foster’s Money Monster, in cinemas this week is Thailand’s David — a gay drama entitled Fathers starring Asda “Utt” Panichkul, Nat Sakdatorn and Sinjai “Nok” Plengpanich.
In Fathers, Asda and Nat play Phoon and Yuke, a same-sex couple who adopt an orphan boy. The two are unable to register their marriage as the law prohibits them to do so. The boy’s guardianship thus falls solely to Phoon. This means Yuke has no custody over the child they lovingly raise together. The couple’s situation is further complicated when the boy wants a mother like his friends.
Playing a supporting role is Sinjai, who is back on the silver-screen as yet another stern figure in a Thai gay film. From Mario Maurer’s mother in Love Of Siam, the actress now plays Rattiya — director of the Children’s Right Protection Organisation. It will be interesting to see how her character affects this family of three.
Director Platphol Mingpornpichit seems to have a trend of portraying stories of couples who make an unlikely match in society. In his 2013 directorial debut Prayoke Sunya Ruk (Present Perfect Continuous Tense), a 20-year-old man falls for a woman twice his age. Now, in Fathers, Platphol revolves his tale around two men who fall in love, engage in a long-term relationship and look into building a family together.
“Love starts with two people, but family is no longer just about two,” says the trailer’s tagline. Judging from the trailer and synopsis, homosexuality — like in many other LGBT films — is once again the cause of the rift and trifle between the characters.
“Are you not afraid that our son will become gay like us?” Phoon is seen asking Yuke in a raised voice.
Also in the trailer are scenes where Butr (newcomer Aritach Pipattangkul) — the couple’s adopted son — is mocked by his friends for having two fathers. One of them even asks: “Are your dads dtoots?”
The story of same-sex couples having children came to the attention of Thai people largely due to the case of Baby Carmen, who was born through a Thai surrogate mother. Thailand is only just settling down from the whole surrogacy drama. After a long fight, Carmen was finally able to go home with her two fathers and unite with her families in Spain. And from the support Thai people gave to her fathers, Gordon Lake and Manuel Santos, it remains to be seen how or if this development in attitude and acceptance will affect Fathers’ performance at the box office.
directed by Platphol Mingpornpichit, starring Asda Panichkul, Nat Sakdatorn and Sinjai Plengpanich, is being screened at selected cinemas nationwide. Visit facebook.com/fathers2016.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.