Pop Aye (2017)

Directed by: Kirsten Tan | 102 minutes | drama | Actors: Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Penpak Sirikul, Bong

Things are not going well for Thai Thana. Once a prominent architect, he is now in danger of being sidetracked professionally. His marriage is also showing serious cracks. So one day Thana does what every man in such a midlife crisis should do: buy an elephant. Not just any elephant, but the elephant Pop Aye he recognizes from his childhood and who he now unexpectedly encounters on the street. Because his wife Bo is a little less happy with the arrival of the beast, Thana decides to move Pop Aye to his native village. There he wants to return the elephant to his uncle.

Thus begins the Thai-Singaporean road movie ‘Pop Aye’. You can quickly forget the story of the elephant, because as befits a road movie, this is about the journey, not the destination. The hike takes us through the Thai countryside, where Thana meets all kinds of special characters: a rural mystic with prophetic gifts, a tired transsexual, two not too zealous cops. Those encounters provide Thana with the necessary life lessons, the most important of which is not to dwell in the past.

You wouldn’t say that ‘Pop Aye’ is the feature debut of Singaporean Kirsten Tan. The fact that Tan has already gained the necessary experience with short films is apparent from the mature and self-assured style. Although the director sometimes tends towards fine filmmaking, ‘Pop Aye’ is undeniably a visual treat. The combination of elephant, Thai countryside and funny architect is enough for more than one and a half hours of cinematic enjoyment. The film is cleverly edited – in the sense that the makers are often just a few seconds ahead of the viewer – and has the necessary funny associations. ‘Pop Aye’ is good in terms of humor and we can’t complain about the acting either. The atmospheric prairie music fits well with the story, although it does give away that this arthouse film is intended for a Western audience.

Unfortunately this sympathetic ‘Pop Aye’ lacks originality. Tan has packed all the familiar ingredients of the genre into her film, so that the result is tasty but not too surprising. Sad, but not too serious. Because how often do we see a road movie about an elephant and a retired architect? We mean.