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Revisiting One of Thailand’s Most Beloved Gay Films
A best friend for a while, then suddenly gone without a trace.
Looking back now, The Love of Siam was my favorite Thai LGBTQ-themed movie during my later high school years in China.
I’ve watched it countless times, sometimes in fragments, and I eagerly recommended it to my classmates, engaging them in discussions, finding topics to talk about. For a long time, I couldn’t shake off the emotions the movie stirred in me. Now, more than a decade has passed, and this film feels a bit like Bing Bong from Inside Out — a best friend for a while, then suddenly gone without a trace.
That is, until I came across a recent podcast with the director and the two leading actors, where they discussed some behind-the-scenes stories from filming and the public reaction after the movie’s 2007 release.
This was a time when LGBTQ representation in mainstream media — whether in Thailand or across Asia — was still considered subcultural. During the early promotional phase, the director didn’t dare mention that the movie would feature a kiss between two boys, and both the actors and the director felt the pressure while filming the scene.
As a kid, loneliness meant having no friends. But as he grew up…
