6ixtynin9
By Chris Hyde
February 8, 2005
A 1999 Thai thriller’s release to DVD gives a glimpse into the early work of filmmaker Pen-ek Ratanaruang.
While his latest work of film was not the sort of thing that you’re going to stumble over at the multiplex, Thailand’s Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s did manage to garner some international recognition with his most recent outing Last Life in the Universe. Though this effort was the first real global exposure for this fascinating director, it was in fact his fourth project as helmsman and it demonstrated a confident hand that could only have been honed through previous work. With that in mind, Palm Pictures has now issued to DVD one of the director’s early works — a currency crisis crime picture with the intriguing title 6ixtynin9.
The film opens with a group of secretaries drawing lots in order to determine which unlucky employee will be laid off; one of them, unsurprisingly, is Tum (Lalita Panyopas) the woman who will become the film’s protagonist. Shocked by the sudden loss of her income, Tum returns dazedly to her place of residence and enters her apartment—a room where the number on the door says “6” but can easily slip to instead read “9”. This numeric transposition becomes the basis for the rest of the movie’s action, as some shady dealings result in a box of illicit cash accidentally being left outside the newly unemployed Tum’s door.
Alone in her apartment with this mysterious box of baht, Tum is at first completely unsure what to do with her windfall. While surely she knows that the money is in some way a result of illegal activity, circumstances conspire to make her deny knowledge of the package when two mean-looking Thai boxers show up to prowl around looking for the lost cash. As one thing leads to another, the jobless young woman’s attempt to purloin this filthy lucre helps to kick off events that will eventually lead to much bloodshed and inter-gangster squabbling. But the real basis of the sometimes absurd plot that unfolds in 6ixtynin9 is whether or not this young woman can retain her true essence after the theft and the violent interactions it causes; the real question that the movie poses is whether or not the character can happily escape the consequences of her actions.
While the trappings of the story of 6ixtynin9 are those of the genre thriller, it’s obvious given the context in which the movie was made that there’s more going on here than meets the eye. In 1997, Thailand’s economy underwent a crisis that saw the country’s currency plunge in value and caused much disruption in what had previously been a booming investment climate. Though how exactly this managed to happen remains contested by critics on the right and the left, the upshot was ultimately that there was much pain caused to the lives of many of the Thai people in the aftermath of the baht’s collapse. What Ratanaruang is exploring with this film is the tale of what can happen to people when their livelihoods are taken away and just how far they are willing to go to preserve their place in the world. Additionally, he’s intimately concerned with questioning just how much money is actually worth in the larger scheme of things — his choice of placing the illicit dough in a noodle box would appear to be an arch intimation that to some currency can be more important than comestibles.
Thematically then, 6ixtynin9 is a deadly serious enterprise concerned with engaging questions of moral integrity and the corruption that cash can bring. Yet Ratanaruang’s tone here often tends to veer towards the comic, a decision that brings forth somewhat mixed results. At times this choice seems brilliant, as the humorous moments can give the film an interesting angle that keeps the more weighty subject matter from becoming boring or pedantic. But the changes in approach are sometimes jarring and tend to give the movie an uneven feel that did not completely satisfy this viewer. To be sure, there’s much here to recommend the film — the lead actress’s performance is of very high quality, the cinematography is often stunning and the highly artistic craftsmanship of the director is obvious throughout. However, there’s a lack of coherence to 6ixtynin9 that makes this movie a bit less successful than the filmmaker’s later Mon-rak Transistor or the amazing Last Life in the Universe, and the sometimes wobbly plotline and tonal shifts tend to detract from the venture.
However, though this film is in no way flawless there is certainly much of value in seeing this Thai director’s earlier vision. While to these eyes his more mature work is much steadier and clearer in tone, 6ixtynin9 offers up a less restrained version of Ratanaruang’s unique mode of cinema than is evidenced in his more recent art and has a peculiarly intriguing viewpoint that makes it eminently watchable. For those who (like me) feel that the filmmaker’s Last Life in the Universe was the best film to come to North American screens in 2004, the chance to see this late '90s item is great benefit. While unfortunately the Palm Pictures DVD edition here offers no real extras beyond the movie’s excellent trailer, it looks and sounds fine and the main event itself is worthwhile enough that it can be recommended without much reservation. 6ixtynin9 might not be the best project that Pen-ek Ratanaruang has ever helmed, but it's sure an interesting piece of work by a filmaker who today may very well be among the world's best.
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