Pobmek Junlakarin is a Thai filmmaker graduated from Chulalongkorn University. He's directed and edited more than 15 short films during his studying, with his thesis short, “Friday Saturday Sunday”, finding its place in the 18th Osaka Asian Film Festival, while also winning the “Digital Forum” section award at 26th Thai Short Film & Video Festival.
“Friday Saturday Sunday” is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
Ning is about to leave her home in order to study filmmaking in Bangkok. In the university form she has to fill however, there is a field that asks for her emergency contact. Ning spends the titular three days exploring her three options, with her best friend, her boyfriend, and her mother.
Pobmek Junlakarin directs a very appealing coming-of-age film, exploring the difficulty of putting hierarchy in the three most significant social connections of a teenager. Ning's best friend is her “comrade” in life, with whom she also shares her interest for movies, to the point that she gets jealous when she watches with someone else. Jump, her boyfriend, is the main source of romance in her life, with him being a rather nice guy who also teaches her how to ride a bike. At the same time, though, retaining their relationship seems rather hard, particularly after he announces to her that he has to live with relatives in Bangkok, and not in the dorm she will be staying in. Furthermore, the gap in financial status also becomes an issue. Her relationship with her mother, as is always the case with their daughters, is quite complicated, with a rather lengthy discussion highlighting the fact quite eloquently. As such, neither of her main relationships is 100% satisfying, while the one with her best friend becomes even more complicated after a point, confusing Ning even more.
Through the three days the young girl explores her connections, Junlakarin poses this very interesting question regarding priorities in life, which is also added with one more since Ning is leaving for Bangkok, which refers to the option of essentially leaving them all behind and starting completely anew. The presentation of all three is realistic as it is appealing, a sense that is heightened even more by the fact that the definite answer is actually left to the viewer.
The subtle music, the intense lighting and the somewhat polished cinematography are also mediums in the overall pleasantness of the movie. Furthermore, the fact that Junlakarin seems to have thought of his main topic quite intently is also evident throughout the 45 minutes of the short, in an aspect that essentially “hides” the fact that there is no really impactful scene throughout here. On the other hand, the tempo is kept steady quite artfully, which is not exactly something so easy to do.
Lastly, Chatchada Piphatnangkool's measured performance is in perfect resonance with the overall aesthetics of the movie, with her highlighting both her maturity through the deepness of her thoughts, and the fact that she is still a teenager, through her various reactions.
“Friday Saturday Sunday” is a very appealing short that shows that Pobmek Junlakarin has what it takes to move to feature filmmaking.
