Film Analysis: Hunger (2023) by Sitisiri Mongkolsiri

The culinary has always been one of the most popular themes in cinema internationally, with numerous fiction films and documentaries from all over the world being constantly produced. Sitisiri Mongkolsiri also uses the concept as his base for “Hunger”, but probably due to his past in horror movies, as in “Krasue” for example, he also induces the narrative with such elements, along with a very strong social commentary aspect.

Set in Bangkok, the movie follows a street cook named Aoy, who has been working in her family’s tavern, but is quite fed up with the lack of any kind of perspective regarding her future. When Tone, a young cook that works for the most famous culinary service in the country, Hunger, eats at the place, he decides to give her a chance to audition for a job there, under the notorious chef Paul. Soy passes the audition, and her future starts looking bright again, but soon she realizes that her life in Hunger is not going to be exactly rosy.

Although food and cooking is the base of the movie, the most impressive aspect of Mongkolsiri’s direction is the way he uses the concept to present a number of sociophilosophical comments, and to also as the standard for the impressive visuals appearing throughout the movie. The first comment one will notice is how chef Paul’s kitchen is a toxic environment, with him implementing military-like discipline while not being shy of becoming verbally abusive and even violent, for any kind of mistake anyone makes. As the story progresses, his overall attitude and methods and the results they produce, as the meals he prepares are truly masterpieces, pose two questions central to the narrative. Why do his employees stay with him despite the abuse they suffer and if excellence is actually only the result of intense pressure. The way the story progresses gives a clear answer to the former, as the second part of the movie takes place in a completely different setting, but to the latter, the answer remains ambiguous, with Mongkolsiri avoiding it by stating that excellence is not something people should necessarily strive for, and that the simple pleasures in life, as being with your friends and family, are of a higher value, in an approach, though, that is essentially cliched.

Probably the best implementation of the culinary in the film is as one of the main dichotomies between the rich and the poor, with Mongkolsiri showing the difference repeatedly throughout the movie, highlighting the intense gap between the two in the country. While the privileged eat with silver spoons (occasionally literally) the best money can buy, the poor just eat what they can, whenever, and wherever they can, with Paul’s monologue in the hospital about the difference between eating not to be hungry and eating to enjoy, highlighting this comment in the best fashion.

Also of note is another comment here, most subtle this time, with the director showing who the rich in the country are, with politicians and the military being essentially one and the same, newly rich from technology and cryptocoins, entrepreneurs who try to find the next big persona in order to take advantage of, and socialites, as they are mentioned in the film probably referring to the social media famous, being the ones who hold the wealth in Thailand. As such, a comment about corruption is also presented in the movie, witht he suicide arc adding a rather dramatic perspective to the concept, while the fact that all of them are portrayed as a kind of vampires, vultures, or barbarians on occasion, adds to the comment, in also one of the most visually impressive aspects of the movie.

Paul’s persona has a direct connection with the aforementioned, as his poor background was the driving force behind his success, as much as his toxic personality. That he has the rich eating from his hand, both metaphorically and literally, highlights this aspect, as does the way he essentially treats them as bloodthirsty creatures, and they seem to love it. Regarding Paul, Mongkolsiri somewhat tries to exonerate him, with his background, the fact that he buys his material from the poor and the violence he inevitably becomes the recipient of also making him somewhat of a victim, in an element though, that does not fit his overall persona and the context of the movie, as a forced effort to show that people are not utterly bad or good, which has become prevalent in the politically correct climate of our times.

Despite this last issue, however, Nopachai Chaiyanam steals the show with his performance in the role, with his laughless, constantly demanding and harsh personality being one of the best traits of the movie, as much as the way he functions as a mad artist on occasion, with the “competition” party being the highlight of this aspect, and in general, the most impressive scene in the movie. Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying as Aoy is captivating as usual, with her charisma filling the screen every time she appears on it, while the way she manages to appear both despaired and resolved, just through her facial expressions, is wondrous to look at. At the same time, her character suffers from a number of cliches in terms of writing, with the whole arc regarding Tone essentially being disconnected from the rest of the narrative, particularly after the forest events, while prolonging the movie unnecessarily to over two hours.

On the other hand, the visuals are truly stunning, and also the main medium that the film also functions as a horror title on occasion. The low-lighted, utterly cold in its cleanliness and shininess kitchen Paul’s crew prepare in is depicted as a sociopathic paradise, with violence and fear lurking in every corner. The various meals the rich enjoy are occasionally quite dark in their vampiric-like presentation, particularly in the slow-motion showing how they chew or swallow, while the bright setting the newly rich inhabit stresses their buffoonery. The scene in the party in the end however, is where the audiovisual aspect of the film finds its apogee, in a sequence that is equally grotesque, elaborate, impressive, and contextually significant, with the combination with fitting slow motion, the sound, the music and the SFX resulting in a piece of truly masterful cinema.

Although “Hunger” can also be perceived as a missed chance for Mongkolsiri to make his comments and essentially his narrative, more pointed, the film as a whole, works excellently, as the direction, the acting, and most of all, the visuals are truly outstanding