A promise that wasn’t

When this movie was announced during the world tour, my heart danced. It was supposed to be a story between a drummer and a dancer. Following the production, the direction has changed to what we have now.

The story: Mansuang tells a story of 2 men( Khem and Wan) of low born status, who by a stroke of bad luck, got sent to Mansuang to uncover a government secret. There they met CHATRA who is on a mission of his own. There is a huge lapse in logic at the methods these men have chosen their individual objectives-

1. There was no foundation to the trust, that allowed Khem to so openly divulge this massive secret that have cost the life of people to Chatra.
2. The Khem character who was on this important mission, seemed to make it a point to engage in unnecessary conflict, thereby drawing unwarranted attention to himself.
3. How did the trio, who have been established as lowborn, earn the right to question the people of higher status, regarding their involvement in said scheme.
4. Why was Khem and Wan sent, when they knew no English, and the document was in English?

The acting in this movie was brilliant and that is to be expected of actors of their calibre. My personal favourite would be Hong(played by Tong) and Chatra(played by Mile) - these two(2) presented a reverse charm to the characters they played in KP, and did it beautifully. Their search for answers amidsttheir grief, was interpreted beautifully with gorgeous micro expressions. I enjoyed watching them.
For Apo(Khem), I had high expectations for his performance, but cringed so hard at his dancing but he looked beautiful so it was bearable. Also, his acting came across as exaggerated at times and in some scenes, seemed to maintain only one facial expression. It broke my focus a little bit. However, he embodies his costume and was a treat for the eyes.
Personally, it was also a discovery of Bas, who played the character, Wan. I went into this not knowing what to expect from Bas as his part in KP was minimal, but I am thoroughly impressed.

The pacing of the movie could have been better. It was fast at times and slow some other times. The emotional scenes came out of nowhere and was short lived. The cinematography and shot was really beautiful, as expected of BOC.

I also wasn’t fulfilled with how much dance or Tanphon was integrated in the movie. Considering this is was the main marketing point, I expected more.

Mansuang could have been something beautiful if more time has gone into the plot development I believe.

Overall, it’s not a bad watch but not the best either. You won’t regret watching it if you set your expectations low.

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