The idea for Blissfully Yours was inspired by an incident that occurred in 1998 while I was shooting my previous film at a downtown zoo in Bangkok. A policeman handcuffed two teenage women and threw them into a police car. I eventually learned that they were illegal Burmese immigrants.


   So, I have cast the sun as my main character in this film. It is the primary source of energy for life, and at the same time, of destruction. It affects all the individuals in the story (a man’s mysterious sunburn, the relentless heat), and can be viewed as an invisible oppressive force around this area on the Thai-Burmese border. The second character is the jungle, which confines the protagonists despite their desire to find freedom there.

In this story, I have chosen not to dwell on the political issues of the Thai-Burmese border, but to focus on mundane and futile activities, which in themselves carry an underlying political message.

To understand the situation of filmmaking in Thailand, one has to look at the current distribution structure. All major theaters are controlled by production companies and will not show films produced by outsiders. Therefore, there is no way for films produced independently to be distributed. In the past, some directors have made films on their own but were unable to break the distribution monopoly. Despite this situation, I still believe there can be a revival of independent voices in the Thai film industry. To be able to complete Blissfully Yours, I asked several institutions and companies for discounts and in-kind contributions. I would sincerely like to thank La-Ong Dao Company Limited, Anna Sanders Films, the Thai Film Foundation, Camera Corner, Illoura, Satellite Pro A/V, Ramindra Sound Studio, and Cine Color Lab, for all their support and confidence in my film.


     Even though the town in this film seems peaceful on the surface, the boredom, hidden emotional conflicts, and communication differences, produce psychological tensions between the protagonists of the story. The main character is a Burmese refugee whose fate has linked him to the lives of two Thai women in this border town. The film details their mundane activities on a typical lazy afternoon. The characters do not have a meaningful goal in life. Under two flawed political systems, they choose to remain ignorantly blissful.
SYNOPSIS

Roong longs for the day when she can be in the arms of her Burmese lover, Min, an illegal immigrant. She pays Orn, an older woman to take care of Min while she looks for a place for them to share their happiness. Will an overdose of happiness have after-effects?

The story begins on a Saturday afternoon when they take Min to see the doctor for his mysterious skin problem. The doctor prescribes some more medication. But Orn is not satisfied and decides to make her own medication. She stops to buy some ingredients at the market on the way to her husband's office. With her ingredients, Orn invents a miracle cream for Min.

Later that afternoon, Min takes Roong to have a picnic in the jungle where they feel free to express their love. Meanwhile, Orn has also gone to the jungle with Tommy, her husband's co-worker. With him, she has found all the pleasure she has dreamed of. They are suddenly interrupted by a Burmese immigrant who steals their motorcycle. Tommy chases after the thief and disappears.

Orn wanders around lost until she reaches the stream where she meets Roong and Min. Above the forest, the sky is about to rain