It’s always a case of tears and heartbreak when the family leader is living on a thin line in their last days of life, and How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies has quite a case to show its potency in wringing out heartstrings.
Of course, this is another run-of-the-mill tale of how the family becomes portrayed as discontented schemers wanting to make off with a piece of Amah’s (Usha “Taew” Seamkhum) estate. But, it embraces a personality rather than becoming defenestrated out of a window into a monotonous, lame-duck comedy strand. Our lead character, M (Putthipong Assaratanakul), is an average teenage boy who lacks respect for the elders and the intricacies of life around him. He would rather slump back into living off his mother’s proceeds and video games to merely live. Upon hearing of his grandmother’s diagnosis of stage four cancer, he lunges into an opportunity to become a de facto caregiver in the hopes of profiting off her last days.
Indeed, the coming-of-age trope can be potentially seen from miles away, but there’s an astute observation that director Pat Boonnitipat puts to work in making this a worthwhile sentimental feature. Assaratanakul pushes on with a believable mentality as he grows from a reckless child to a more appreciative man with his interactions with Amah; the trips to the hospital, the wait times for specific food, and all give us a protagonist to sympathize with and reflect upon. The pillow and stationary shots immediately come to mind as an Ozu inspiration, calculating the intergenerational tension with such prowess. The themes radiate with how the family aspect pervades each generation’s culture. We get glimpses of Kiang (Sanya “Duu” Kunakorn) and how his family operates, along with the clumsy, deadbeat adult Seoi (Pongsatorn “Phuak” Jongwilas) still has to rely on the family to make it somewhere himself.
Despite the inevitable shortcomings, this is M’s story in recognizing the more excellent value of devotion and patience in attending to another person’s needs. His younger cousin said it best, “Do you know what old people want but none of their offspring will give to them? Time.” The composition and structuring of this feature are a worthwhile treat, with glimmers of some comedy bits to lighten the atmosphere, and we get an excellent insight into Bangkok culture. The acting, though, could’ve conveyed a more profound inner struggle into how the family operates against one another with tension and suspense with this knowledge afloat.
Several ostentatious features are prevalent, but this is a radiating tale that reflects how we, as viewers, need to look at our relationship with family. There’s more to it than nitpicking one’s imperfections or glossing over how much the next generation could end up in their pockets. How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies isn’t the best international feature as of late, but it’s damn worth a viewing that protests love and compassion.
