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FOUR years after making his debut with the New York-set horror flick “Countdown” — in which three Thai teens get more than they bargained for from a goateed drug dealer called Jesus — 36-year-old helmer Nattawut Poonpiriya manages to ace a far-from- standard test, turning high school exams into an intense thrilling ride. Based on recent revelations about real-life scandals in the international college-admission Scholastic Assess- ment Tests (SAT), “Bad Genius” scores high marks as a ceaselessly entertaining thriller that cedes little ground to the cheap comedy and sentimentality of recent Thai hits. Nattawut admitted he watched “The Conversation” and “All the Presidents’ Men” for inspiration, and it shows as the film flourishes through its simple narrative and taut editing. With exams now basically an essen- tial part of modern life, “Bad Genius” could easily resonate across various demographics — and even qualify as a mildly-worded social critique, with its allusions to the inequality and cor- ruption engulfing the young Thai pro- tagonists. And just like his characters, Nattawut has turned his exam scams into big business: The May 3 release topped the Thai box office during its opening weekend and now stands as the highest-grossing homegrown title in Thailand this year, with takings of nearly US$3.3 million. The film opens the New York Asian Film Festival on June 30, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if someone snaps up remake rights after that. The titular heroine (or anti-heroine) here is straight-A student Lynn (played by model Chutimon Chuengcharoen- sukying in her first screen role), who, as the film begins, has just enrolled in an elite school. Hailing from a lower middle-class background — her father (1980s pop singer-producer Thaneth Warakulnukroh) is a plain, recently divorced schoolteacher — the teen- ager discovers, much to her chagrin, that fraud is endemic in her new sur- roundings. While the school charges students “tea money,” teachers leak exam papers to students in return for “tutoring fees.” Watching her father scavenge money for her tuition, the good girl soon turns bad as she develops a plan to earn a quick buck. Egged on by the beautiful but dim-witted Grace (Eisaya Hosuwan) and her rich but equally dense boyfriend Pat (Teeradon Supapunpinyo), Lynn devises a system by which she can relay answers to them — and anyone who’s willing to pay — during tests. Beginning with a small-scale experi- ment in a classroom, Lynn’s operation eventually balloons into a derring-do venture with a bigger test taking place in the school hall as she scrambles to beat a cheat-proof device in the exam papers. Having somehow passed the test on that one — a mission Nattawut con- veys very impressively via a mise-en- scène resembling that of a heist more than a high-school comedy — Lynn’s fortune-making enterprise grinds to a halt because of a complaint lodged by her impoverished, equally talented but much more scrupulous rival, Bank (Chanon Santinatornkul). Soon enough, however, Lynn finds bigger fish to fry. Asked by Grace and Pat for her help in their efforts to score decent results at the STIC tests — a fictional equivalent of the SAT — she comes up with a more elaborate and profitable venture, one that would require more logistics, a trip to Australia and, most problematically, Bank’s help. Devoid of the fantastical gadgets that many a 21st century media-savvy maverick would conveniently throw in, “Bad Genius” is as markedly low- tech as its unassuming title: Here, the scammers operate with consumer- grade smartphones, pencils and old- school printing presses, table-tapping fingers, strategically timed bathroom breaks and extreme ways of feigning sickness. Nattawut has managed to make all this work (glossing over a few problems in the plot) with his dynamic storytelling and thanks to Phaklao Jiraungkoonkun’s cam- erawork and Chonlasit Upanigikit’s cutting. While allowing just enough of a glimpse of the internal anguish of Lynn and Bank, the director — here helped by engaging turns from Chu- timon and Chamon — refrains from expanding that emotion into cliched melodrama. In an audacious move, he denies Bank a chance at redemption, as the boy emerges from his ordeal with his values utterly and dismay- ingly transformed. Perhaps to avoid being accused of advocating that crime pays, Nattawut has Lynn repent on her misdeeds. But he keeps that note brief and devoid of moralizing or high drama. “Bad Genius” ultimately is more about escapades than its consequences, showing that bad things continue to happen in this crooked world. The movie is now being screened in Shenzhen. (SD-Agencies) 14 ❘ Movies CONTACT US AT: 8351-9409, [email protected] Fri/Sat/Sun October 20~22, 2017 (October 20) Theaters Theaters China Film Cinema Tel: 8661-7199 Add: Block A, Building 2, Qushui Bay, OCT Bay, Baishi Road 8, Nanshan District (南山区白石路东8号欢乐 海岸园区内的曲水湾2栋A区) UA KK Mall Tel: 2290-6660 Add: 4/F, KK Mall, 5016 Shennan Road East, Luohu District (罗湖区深南东路5016号京基百纳空间购物 中心四楼) Golden Harvest Shenzhen Tel: 8266-8182, ext: 0 Add: 3/F, The MixC, 1881 Bao’an Road South (罗湖区宝安南路1881号万象城三楼) South Movie City Tel: 8261-1138 Add: 3/F, Kingglory Plaza, Renmin Road South, Luohu District (罗湖区人民南路金光华广场三楼) New South Movie City Tel: 2594-4588 Add: 3/F, City Plaza, 1095 Shennan Road Central (深南中路1095号新城市广场三楼) Shenzhen Jinyi Intl. Cinema Tel: 8280-1168 Add: G/F, Central Walk, Fuhua Road, Futian District (福田区福华路怡景中心城内G楼) Broadway Circuit Tel: 8881-1222 Add: 2/F, Coco Park, Fuhua Road 3, Futian District (福田区福华三路Coco Park二楼) China Film Antaeus Intl. Cineplex Tel: 8253-1188 Add: 3/F, Jiaxinmao, intersection of Nonglin Road and Qiaoxiang Road, Futian District (福田区农林路 和侨香路交汇处嘉信茂三楼) MCL Cinema City Tel: 2685-8870 Add: 5/F, Garden City Center, Nanhai Boulevard, Nan- shan District (南山区南海大道花园城中心五楼) Holiday Cinema Tel: 8269-8989 Add: L3, Yitian Holiday Plaza, opposite Window of the World, Nanshan District (南山区世界之窗对面 益田假日广场L3层) Coastal City Cinema Tel: 8612-9988 Add: 3/F, Coastal City, 33 Wenxin Road 5, Nanshan District (南山区文心五路33号海岸城三楼) Schedule Schedule Currently playing Bad Genius (Thai) —————————————— The Son of Bigfoot (English) —————————————— The Space Between Us (English) —————————————— The Foreigner (English) —————————————— Chasing the Dragon (Cantonese) —————————————— 《天才枪手》 Starring: Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Eisaya Hosuwan, Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Chanon Santinatornkul Director: Nattawut Poonpiriya Bad Genius Lynn played by model Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying in “Bad Genius.” File photos A scene from “Bad Genius.”
Transcript of CONTACT US AT: SSchedulecheduleszdaily.sznews.com/attachment/pdf/201710/20/8eb6d571-ab... ·...
FOUR years after making his debut with the New York-set horror fl ick “Countdown” — in which three Thai teens get more than they bargained for from a goateed drug dealer called Jesus — 36-year-old helmer Nattawut Poonpiriya manages to ace a far-from-standard test, turning high school exams into an intense thrilling ride.
Based on recent revelations about real-life scandals in the international college-admission Scholastic Assess-ment Tests (SAT), “Bad Genius” scores high marks as a ceaselessly entertaining thriller that cedes little ground to the cheap comedy and sentimentality of recent Thai hits. Nattawut admitted he watched “The Conversation” and “All the Presidents’ Men” for inspiration, and it shows as the fi lm fl ourishes through its simple narrative and taut editing.
With exams now basically an essen-tial part of modern life, “Bad Genius” could easily resonate across various demographics — and even qualify as a mildly-worded social critique, with its allusions to the inequality and cor-ruption engulfi ng the young Thai pro-tagonists. And just like his characters, Nattawut has turned his exam scams into big business: The May 3 release topped the Thai box offi ce during its opening weekend and now stands as the highest-grossing homegrown title in Thailand this year, with takings of nearly US$3.3 million. The fi lm opens the New York Asian Film Festival on June 30, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if someone snaps up remake rights after that.
The titular heroine (or anti-heroine) here is straight-A student Lynn (played by model Chutimon Chuengcharoen-sukying in her fi rst screen role), who, as the fi lm begins, has just enrolled in an elite school. Hailing from a lower middle-class background — her father
(1980s pop singer-producer Thaneth Warakulnukroh) is a plain, recently divorced schoolteacher — the teen-ager discovers, much to her chagrin, that fraud is endemic in her new sur-roundings. While the school charges students “tea money,” teachers leak exam papers to students in return for “tutoring fees.”
Watching her father scavenge money for her tuition, the good girl soon turns bad as she develops a plan to earn a quick buck. Egged on by the beautiful but dim-witted Grace (Eisaya Hosuwan) and her rich but equally dense boyfriend Pat (Teeradon Supapunpinyo), Lynn devises a system by which she can relay answers to them — and anyone who’s willing to pay — during tests. Beginning with a small-scale experi-ment in a classroom, Lynn’s operation eventually balloons into a derring-do venture with a bigger test taking place in the school hall as she scrambles to beat a cheat-proof device in the exam papers.
Having somehow passed the test on that one — a mission Nattawut con-veys very impressively via a mise-en-scène resembling that of a heist more than a high-school comedy — Lynn’s fortune-making enterprise grinds to a halt because of a complaint lodged by her impoverished, equally talented but much more scrupulous rival, Bank (Chanon Santinatornkul). Soon enough, however, Lynn fi nds bigger
fi sh to fry. Asked by Grace and Pat for her help in their efforts to score decent results at the STIC tests — a fi ctional equivalent of the SAT — she comes up with a more elaborate and profi table venture, one that would require more logistics, a trip to Australia and, most problematically, Bank’s help.
Devoid of the fantastical gadgets that many a 21st century media-savvy maverick would conveniently throw in, “Bad Genius” is as markedly low-tech as its unassuming title: Here, the scammers operate with consumer-grade smartphones, pencils and old-school printing presses, table-tapping fi ngers, strategically timed bathroom breaks and extreme ways of feigning sickness. Nattawut has managed to make all this work (glossing over a few problems in the plot) with his dynamic storytelling and thanks to Phaklao Jiraungkoonkun’s cam-erawork and Chonlasit Upanigikit’s cutting.
While allowing just enough of a glimpse of the internal anguish of Lynn and Bank, the director — here helped by engaging turns from Chu-timon and Chamon — refrains from expanding that emotion into cliched melodrama. In an audacious move, he denies Bank a chance at redemption, as the boy emerges from his ordeal with his values utterly and dismay-ingly transformed.
Perhaps to avoid being accused of advocating that crime pays, Nattawut has Lynn repent on her misdeeds. But he keeps that note brief and devoid of moralizing or high drama. “Bad Genius” ultimately is more about escapades than its consequences, showing that bad things continue to happen in this crooked world.
The movie is now being screened in Shenzhen.
(SD-Agencies)
14 x MoviesCONTACT US AT: 8351-9409, [email protected]
Fri/Sat/Sun October 20~22, 2017
(October 20)
TheatersTheatersChina Film CinemaTel: 8661-7199Add: Block A, Building 2, Qushui Bay, OCT Bay, Baishi Road 8, Nanshan District (南山区白石路东8号欢乐海岸园区内的曲水湾2栋A区)
UA KK MallTel: 2290-6660Add: 4/F, KK Mall, 5016 Shennan Road East, Luohu District (罗湖区深南东路5016号京基百纳空间购物中心四楼)
Golden Harvest ShenzhenTel: 8266-8182, ext: 0Add: 3/F, The MixC, 1881 Bao’an Road South (罗湖区宝安南路1881号万象城三楼)
South Movie CityTel: 8261-1138Add: 3/F, Kingglory Plaza, Renmin Road South, Luohu District (罗湖区人民南路金光华广场三楼)
New South Movie CityTel: 2594-4588Add: 3/F, City Plaza, 1095 Shennan Road Central (深南中路1095号新城市广场三楼)
Shenzhen Jinyi Intl. CinemaTel: 8280-1168Add: G/F, Central Walk, Fuhua Road, Futian District (福田区福华路怡景中心城内G楼)
Broadway CircuitTel: 8881-1222Add: 2/F, Coco Park, Fuhua Road 3, Futian District (福田区福华三路Coco Park二楼)
China Film Antaeus Intl. CineplexTel: 8253-1188Add: 3/F, Jiaxinmao, intersection of Nonglin Road and Qiaoxiang Road, Futian District (福田区农林路和侨香路交汇处嘉信茂三楼)
MCL Cinema CityTel: 2685-8870Add: 5/F, Garden City Center, Nanhai Boulevard, Nan-shan District (南山区南海大道花园城中心五楼)
Holiday CinemaTel: 8269-8989Add: L3, Yitian Holiday Plaza, opposite Window of the World, Nanshan District (南山区世界之窗对面益田假日广场L3层)
Coastal City CinemaTel: 8612-9988Add: 3/F, Coastal City, 33 Wenxin Road 5, Nanshan District (南山区文心五路33号海岸城三楼)
ScheduleScheduleCurrently playing
Bad Genius (Thai)
——————————————The Son of Bigfoot
(English)——————————————
The Space Between Us(English)
——————————————The Foreigner
(English)——————————————
Chasing the Dragon(Cantonese)
——————————————
《天才枪手》
Starring: Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Eisaya Hosuwan, Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Chanon Santinatornkul Director: Nattawut Poonpiriya
Bad Genius
Lynn played by model Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying in “Bad Genius.” File photos
A scene from “Bad Genius.”
