By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
Starring: Lalita Panyopas | Tasanawalai Ongartittichai
Original language title: Ruang talok 69
Country: thailand
Year: 2005
Running time: 118
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235154/combined
Bruce says: “After playing in film festivals for over two and one half years (January 2000 – August 2002) 6IXTYNIN9, never found distribution in the United States. As a result of the success of Ratanaruang’s LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE, we finally are able to catch a glimpse of an important artist’s early work on the big screen, an experience similar to last year’s release of Wong Kar-Wai’s 1991 gem DAYS OF BEING WILD. Despite its title, 6IXTYNIN9 is not a film about oral sex; it refers to the number six on an apartment door that has come loose and turns itself upside down.
“A large corporation is forced to trim its forces during the Asian financial crisis of the 1990’s. When a lottery system is employed to determine who will be fired, Tum is one of three women in her work group to get the axe. Within the next 48 hours losing her job will be the least of Tum’s worries. The next morning Tum opens her apartment door (#6) to discover a box filled with one million baht. (My guess is that this is about $50,000, hardly an insignificant sum to someone unemployed.) Tum opens the box and is shocked to find the money. Soon two thugs from #9 are knocking on her door and asking about the box. She hits one over the head with a flower pot and stabs the other. Suddenly she has two corpses on her hands. Later another Mafioso type arrives and breaks in when Tum is out. He works for a rival underworld group. A policeman appears to use Tum’s balcony for access to the apartment of some druggies next door. When these two shoot each other simultaneously, Tum has four corpses in the apartment. And the mayhem doesn’t end with just four. By the end of the film Tum’s apartment has seen at least fourteen corpses.
“The policeman is the boyfriend of a nosy downstairs neighbor who thinks that Tum is having sex with him. ‘The more the economy flops, the hornier people get,’ the downstairs neighbor philosophizes. She fantasizes about poisoning Tum. Add to this mix Tum’s best friend Jim who stages a suicide attempt during all this activity and Tum has a very full day.
“6IXTYNIN9 is a very silly movie – a hilarious thriller – with marvelous fantasy scenes intertwined with the action. My favorite was a scene where Tum fantasizes her own suicide by drinking all the liquid cleansers under the bathroom sink. Director Ratanaruang uses sound very effectively. In some scenes there is only bird chirping in the background or an obscene phone caller adding heavy breathing to the silence. Suddenly, a full orchestra takes over. The film is filled with an abundance visual texture using caning, lattice, sheer curtains and mirrors to marvelous effect.
“The postscript for the film reads, “When God gives you a gift he also gives you a whip.”
“Hmmm, a parable…not exactly what I expected. 4.5 cats”