Movies

Great mates

By Tatat Bunnag

Film friends fall in love

Along with horror, teen romance has become Thailand's hippest film genre in recent times. Young moviegoers can relate to plots that mix drama, comedy and coming of age.

Directed by Karun Komanuwong, Roommate is a new romance movie due to start screening on June 11. The film features a complicated love triangle among a group of university students in Chiang Mai. The friends rent a house together and form a rock band, but they all have secrets that they're trying to keep from one another.

• Did you know •

Roommate was adapted from Andrew Fleming's 1994 movie Threesome.

Roommate features 21-year-old actor Vittavat Sigklumphong (Ball), who became famous starring in the hit 2006 movie Seasons Change. He's joined by several newcomers, including 21-year-old beauty Apasanun Worabhiromruks (Arizz).

Student Weekly recently had a chat with Ball and Arizz at Major Avenue Ratchayothin. We asked the young stars all about the making of Roommate.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Roommate is about a group of best friends. Were you guys already friends before you started making the film?

Ball: Yeah, I think so. We weren't really close, but we'd seen each other around before. We all study at the same university.
Arizz: We also did some acting workshops together a few months before shooting. We became good friends after that.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Was there a particular reason why Roommate was mostly filmed in Chiang Mai?

Ball: There are some scenes in Bangkok as well. The story is about Bangkok students who move to Chiang Mai to study at university. That's why they rent a house together.
Arizz: Chiang Mai is such a beautiful place. There are plenty of nice locations there for filming.

STUDENT WEEKLY: You guys play in a band together in the film. Do you play music in real life?

Arizz:�Not really. We all had to learn the basics of playing our instruments before we started making the film.
Ball:�We had to actually play our instruments in the film. My character, Note, is meant to be really good at playing guitar, so it was quite difficult for me to prepare for that!

STUDENT WEEKLY: Arizz, you play a tomboy named Pop in the film. Was it a difficult role for you to play?

Arizz: Not really, but it's totally opposite from my real-life character. Pop is a very sombre person. She seems to have something on her mind all the time. I'm more nice and easy-going. [Laughs.] I also had to make myself look a bit tougher by making my skin tanned.

STUDENT WEEKLY: What was the hardest scene for you guys to play in the movie?

Arizz: The motorcycle riding scenes. I was supposed to ride a motorcycle all through the film, but I couldn't ride at all in real life. It was tough learning everything before making the movie!
Ball:�The hardest part for me was the fight scene on the roof at the end of the movie. It's the climactic scene, where Note has a big argument with Pop. It took a long time to film, and it was hard to make it look real.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Ball, you've acted in other teen dramas like Season Change. Is Roommate much different from your previous films?

Ball: It's quite similar, but I played a high school kid in Season Change. This time I play a university student. The relationships in Roommate are a bit more grown-up and serious.

	genre (n): a particular style or type of literature, music, art or film that you can recognise because of its special features love triangle (n): a situation that involves three people, each of whom loves at least one of the others workshop (n): a period of discussion and practical work on a particular subject, in which a group of people share their knowledge and experience shooting (n): the process of making a film tomboy (n): a girl who enjoys activities and games that are traditionally considered to be for boys sombre (adj): sad and serious easy-going (adj): relaxed and happy to accept things without worrying or getting angry tanned (adj): having a brown skin colour as a result of being in the sun climactic (n): the most exciting part of a movie, piece of music, etc. that usually happens near the end grown-up (adj): suitable for or typical of an adult

IDIOMS
come of age: when a person reaches the age when they have an adult's legal rights and responsibilities
on your mind: thinking and worrying about something a lot