reader Posted December 18, 2024 Posted December 18, 2024 From the Straits Times Thai tear-jerker How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies has made the shortlist in the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards, it was announced in Los Angeles on Dec 17. The film that became a sensation in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia joins 14 other non-English-language films on the shortlist. The family drama about a cancer-stricken grandmother (Usha Seamkhum) and her scheming grandson (Putthipong “Billkin” Assaratanakul) is the first Thai movie to make the Oscars shortlist in the Best International Feature Film category, formerly known as Best Foreign Language Film. It is also the only title from Asia among the top 15 picks. The entry from the United Kingdom, Santosh, is a Hindi-language film set in rural India. Singapore’s entry to the category, La Luna, a Malay-language comedy-drama directed by Singaporean film-maker M. Raihan Halim, failed to make the cut. The remaining contenders in the category are I’m Still Here (Brazil), Universal Language (Canada), Waves (Czech Republic), The Girl With The Needle (Denmark), Emilia Perez (France), The Seed Of The Sacred Fig (Germany), Touch (Iceland), Kneecap (Ireland), Vermiglio (Italy), Flow (Latvia), Armand (Norway), From Ground Zero (Palestine) and Dahomey (Senegal). The film is the box-office champion of 2024 in its home country and has earned nearly US$50 million (S$67 million) globally. In Singapore, it grossed $5.86 million, making it the highest-earning Thai film of all time and the highest-grossing Asian title of 2024. Across South-east Asia, the film has set box-office records for a Thai production. It is also an outlier in the Thai film industry, a regional powerhouse known for its horror and comedy exports. 10tazione and Pete1111 2 Quote
Members Pete1111 Posted January 23 Members Posted January 23 I would like to see it. Looks good! The Hollywood Reporter has an encouraging article about the film. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/how-to-make-millions-before-grandma-dies-review-thai-oscar-entry-1236099938/ Quote
bkkmfj2648 Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Excellent film. I watched it on New Year's Eve. Truly heartwarming and enlightening about how the Chinese-Thai population view death - which I found to be culturally enriching since 93% of the Thai population identify as being Buddhist. Here is what I posted about this film over in my Cebu, Philippines trip report: I watched the wonderful Thai movie = “How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies”. I HIGHLY recommend this heart warming very original Thai film. Title of this film in Thai is, "Lahn Mah" หลานม่า which literally means "Grandma's Grandchild". I found the film culturally enriching as it gives the perspective of death in Thailand from the Chinese-Thai point of view. Film is available on in Netflix, as well as in Google movies. It has been nominated for the Oscars international shortlist. Read more about it here: https://variety.com/2024/film/news/how-to-make-millions-before-grandma-dies-oscar-shortlist-thailand-1236256031/ On 2 March 2025, we will be told if it has won the actual Oscar award. Quote
