How To Win At Checkers (Every Time)

This is a meaningful long-form directorial debut of Korean-American Josh Kim. The unwieldy title of "How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)," -- more literary than cinematic -- hosts a terrific script by Kim based on two short stories by Thai/American Rattawut Lapcharoensap from his collection "Sightseeing." The film was Thailand's entry for the Best Foreign Language category, something you wouldn't necessarily expect from this Asian country.

In Kim's tale, eleven-year-old Oat (Ingkarat Damrongsakkul) lives with his widowed auntie and his decade-older brother, Ek (Thira Chutikul) in a poor section of Bangkok, Thailand. To no one's anger or embarrassment, handsome Ek has a riche male lover his age. Both young men are subject to the country's draft lottery, which worries middle-aged Auntie (Vatanya Thamdee), for she depends on Ek's earnings for their survival.

Oat wants nothing more than to grow up quickly, but never bargained for the discovery that Ek is a prostitute in a gangster's brothel/bar, a job Ek is forced to do when Oat steals drugs and scotch from the gangster's wayward son's flashy automobile.

There's much to learn about current Thai politics and social issues in his film, for which Kim apparently learned the Thai language. Well-photographed and scored, the film is fascinating, but it isn't a "gay" film; rather, it uses Ek's sexuality and his relationship with well-to-do Jai (Arthur Navarat) as a plot backdrop to Oat's growth. And Oat adores his older brother (the German title is "Mine bruder, der Held" - "My brother, the hero"), so when we meet Oat as a young man (Toni Rakkaen) towards the end of the film, we learn more about his growth after a tragedy.

This is an assured directorial debut, very watchable for its 80-minute length, moving and instructive. It should have had a better distribution in the USA, but now we can all enjoy it on DVD.

"How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)"
DVD
$9.99 (on Amazon)
www.wolfevideo.com