The Christmas Dream Analysis: The Kingdom's First Musical in Decades Is Big On Heartfelt Pageantry.
Reportedly the initial musical production from Thailand in five decades, The Christmas Dream comes under the direction of British filmmaker Paul Spurrier and offers up a curious mixture of the contemporary and the classic. The film serves as a modern-day Oliver Twist that journeys from the hills of the north to the bustling capital of Bangkok, featuring old-school Technicolor visuals and an abundance of heartstring-tugging musical highlights. Its songs are the work of Spurrier, set to an symphonic soundtrack composed by Mickey Wongsathapornpat.
An Odyssey of Hope and Morality
Portrayed with a Michelle Yeoh-like resolve but in a much smaller package, young actress Amata Masmalai plays Lek, a pre-teen schoolgirl. She is compelled to flee after her violent stepfather Nin (portrayed by Vithaya Pansringarm) brutally kills her mother. Setting out with only her disabled toy Bella for companionship, Lek relies on a strong moral compass, directed toward a new home by the ghost of her late mum. Her quest is peppered with a series of colorful characters who test her resolve, including a spoiled rich girl desperately seeking a companion and a quack doctor hawking questionable remedies.
The director's love of the song-and-dance format is abundantly clear – or, more accurately, it is gloriously evident. The early rural sequences in particular bottle the ruddy glow reminiscent of The Sound of Music.
Visual and Choreographic Flair
The choreography often possesses a quickstep snap and pace. A particular standout erupts on a corporate business park, which serves as Lek's first taste of the Bangkok rat race. With suited professionals cartwheeling in and out of a great mechanical cortege, this stands as the singular moment where The Christmas Dream touches upon the stylized complexity characteristic of classic era musical cinema.
Musical and Narrative Limitations
Despite being lavishly orchestrated, a lot of the score is too bland musically and lyrically. Instead of strategically placing songs at key points in the plot, Spurrier douses the film with them, seemingly trying to mask a somewhat weak narrative. Only during the beginning and conclusion – with the tragedy of Lek's mother and when her hope falters in Bangkok – is there sufficient challenge to balance an overly straightforward and sweet journey.
Brief hints of mild class satire, such as when Lek's sudden good fortune attracts avaricious villagers crawling all over her, are hardly enough for older viewers. While might embrace the general positive outlook, the exotic backdrop fails to disguise a fundamentally sense of blandness.
