Bitter / Sweet at the 42nd Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film and Video Festival (incl. synopsis)

April 15 2009, 7:24am

"Bitter / Sweet", a Thai-American co-production, with a big cast from both countries. It will have its premier at the 42nd Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film & Video Festival as Lekha Shankar on Dearcinema.com reports:

Bitter / Sweet was directed by Jeff Hare (directed for example "Checking Out"), an American director who has won awards at this festival 2 times in the past. The movie was shot completely in Thailand with a budget of 5 Million USD (which is small by US but big by Thai standards). Producer is Swiss national Urs Brunner who lives in Thailand and is the corporate head of "Boncafe in Thailand, a coffee company. This explains why the film is shot on Thailand's coffe plantations, which was not seen yet in any movie. Brunner hopes the film will be premiered at the Bangkok International Film festival.

Bitter / Sweet is a romantic comedy movie and there are many well known actors, both American and Thai, who play a part. There is Kip Pardue who plays a leading role (Return of the Titans, Laura Smiles), James Brolin (father of famous actor Josh Brolin, and husband of Barbara Streisand), Spencer Garret (21, Air Force One, Charlie Wilson’s War), and Laura Sorenson (Bewitched, Forgiven).

On the Thai side we have Napakprapa "Mamee" Nakprasit in a lead role (Butterfly Man, Long Khong, Mae Bia), Akara "Golf" Amarttayakul (winner of the Best Actor Awards in Thailand, last year, whose boxing- film "Muay Thai Chaiya" was popularly received at IIFI, Goa, last year; also plays in Necromancer), singer-stars Pakaramai Potrananda (Kwan Riam), Supalak "Cal" Neemyothin, and pop-diva Tata Young, in a special guest appearance.

Synopsis / Plot (via Angel and Bear Productions homepage):

No one can sum the movie up better than Hare. When asked what this film is about he said, “This film is a love letter to Thailand; its people, its places, its amazing charms and, last, not least, its tasty coffee.” “BITTER/SWEET” is a character-driven romantic comedy, while at the same time, also a classic, “fish-out-of-water” story. The movie is the story of an American businessman Brian Chandler (Kip Pardue), who seemingly has a “perfect” life. However, things begin to change for Brian after his boss, renegade coffee mogul Calvert Jenkins (James Brolin) sends him to Thailand to inspect a crop for purchase.

Upon arrival, Brian meets Ticha (Napakprapa “Mamee” Nakprasit), a Bangkok corporate executive, who has long-since given up on the prospects of finding love. At the urging of her old coffee farmer parents with the hopes that Brian will purchase his coffee there and save the village from corrupted middlemen, Ticha takes on the task of bringing Brian to the coffee fields of Southern Krabi, and reconciling with her past.

Ticha's fierce sister Mint (Pakaramai “Tong” Potrananda) and her handsome boxing boyfriend Komane (Akara “Golf” Amarttayakul), her outgoing best friend Mook (Supalak “Cal” Neemyothin) and Mook’s outrageously funny expatriate boyfriend Werner (Spencer Garrett), not to speak of Brian's fiancee Amanda (Laura Sorensen) give interesting sub plots to the story.

Brain and Ticha are essentially “same sides of a different coin” so they butt heads constantly, to great comic effect. However, as their journey leads them from the cosmopolitan bustle of Bangkok to the pristine, white sands beaches of Krabi, both Brian and Ticha slowly begin to realize that they were made for each other.