6ixtynin9

A-

Directed by Pen Ek Ratanaruang

Four years before he officially burst onto the internationla film scene with "Last Life in the Universe," Pen Ek Ratanaruang was already making waves with "6ixtynin9," a well received black comedy that was only his second film as a director. Contrary to its suggestive name, "6ixtynin9" contains zero raunch but rather a healthy dose of pitch black humor that is deftly fashioned by its director into a compelling and at times hilarious story of hapless crooks, corrupt executives, naive greed, and the potentially deadly consequences of meddling in the affairs of others.

After losing her job at a local bank, Tum (played convincingly by Lalita Sanyopas) returns to her dank Bangkok aprtment to find a cardboard box filled with Thai banknotes. Feeling the financial pinch, she decides to keep the money. Things start to go south when a pair of Muay Thai boxers show up at her door, assault her, and begin looking frantically for the money. Fearing for her life, Tum attacks and kills the thugs and attempts to hide the money. The kills don't stop there, however, and Tum's innocent greed sets of a chain of bloody events as she attempts to flee Bangkok.

A viewer over on IMDB cleverly pronounced "6ixtynin9" the 'Asian Fargo,' a comparison that is quite apt. Unlike Fargo, though, which has its moments of seriousness that poke out amongst the film's many wry moments, "6ixtynin9" appears to be geared almost entirely towards comedic effect. Indeed, "6ixtynin9" can best be described as a comedy of errors where the punchlines are often punctuated by the burst of a pistol or the slice of a knife. Bodies pile up one after another at Tum's place as hapless police officers, violent Muay Thai boxers, and a variety of other victims somehow find a way to get knocked off, be it by Tum or by someone else who is nosing around her place at the same moment. In one particularly hilarious scene, a gangster breaks into Tum's apartment and is surprised to see a police officer "hiding" behind a door (he had been previously slain and hidden there by Tum). The gangster opens fire on the officer and is delighted to see his (already long dead) body slump to the floor. He calls his boss to boast about his glorious kill, claiming that the cop had valiantly returned fire but had finally been vanquished.
By the end of the film, Tum's apartment has become a veritable death trap, strewn with bodies that have all met untimely, and often hilarious, fates.
Rantanaruang is an exciting, talented director and he infuses "6ixtynin9" with enough style that it is elevated from being merely an amusing crime flick to something far more engrossing. What is more impressive to me at least is that "6ixtynin6" is nothing like his previous film, "Fun Bar Karaoke" nor is it anything like his following films either, especially "Last Life in the Universe," a testament to Ratanaruang's incredible versatility as a director as well as his ability to surprise his audience with each new film.