Nonzee Nimibutr is by far my favorite Thai filmmaker. I loved Nang Nak and OK Baythong, so I was looking forward to this.The sex is so relentless and so relentlessly loveless, it makes the film bleakly ugly where somber reflection (as in Nang Nak) would work much better.And how can a 31-year-old glamor star (Christy Chung) play a 50-something "mia noy" with no wrinkles? Implausible! My wife insists that the film we saw on DVD could NEVER be screened in Thailand. She thinks it was made for a foreign market, esp. Hong Kong and Taiwan. Any comments, "pheuan Thai"?

This film was very controversial when it was released in Hong Kong. Not only was it the first movie which Christy Chung's (who is very famous in Hong Kong) first erotic film, it also supposedly starred a 15 year old teenage man. Later the age issue was cleared up and the guy was actually 17 when he made the film.Anyway, back to the film. It was a story which had a bit of everything. Family tension, love, aggressiveness, revenge, rape, hatred. This is not just erotica, but in fact a tragic story of a man's childhood. I thought the acting was good. The father's anger, the sister's aggressiveness were portrayed beautifully. The scene when Jan Dara rubbed onto the Night Mistress' breast was hilarious!If you are not disturbed by the complicated sexual relationships in the film then this movie is enjoyable. It gives the audience something to think about, especially raising the awareness of the public towards the rape victims.

One of the first Thai movie's I have seen. The story is about the Life of Jan Dara, who's mother dies giving birth to him. He grows up hated by his "family". I've heart that the Thai movie board did not approve of this film until the 3rd time it was send in because of the many "naughty" scenes. Compared to Dutch or French movies this film is really conservative, but for Thailand this is a first. The showing of breast has long been forbidden (as I understand) overall the story is very strong and it is NOT a feel good film, so it does not leave you with a smile on your face.

"Jan Dara" is another beautifully shot picture from Thailand's Nonzee Nimibutr. I liked his 1999 film "Nang nak" but "Jan Dara" is definitely an improvement. The classically beautiful camera work mixed with highly erotic scenes remind one of Annaud's "L'amant" - but "Jan Dara" has a more nostalgic look with lots of sepia colors in it. What strikes me is that there's not a single (important) character in this movie that is ugly. This is a movie full of gorgeous people. In "Nang Nak", the main actor was amazingly well built but had rotten teeth - here, everyone seems to be a model. I found myself especially enchanted by the the one who plays 17-year old Jan. This beauty of the actors and actresses perfectly fits the slightly artificial mood of the movie.I've talked about style. What about story? Well, that's not as rewarding. There are your typical family drama plots, the hate, the love - basically a soap opera. With lots of sex. Would I recommend it? Definitely, if you lov e lush settings and gorgeous people. I for one found myself having a nice time...Rating: 6/10