Wet, wet, wet ('Friends', review, spoiler)

Poj Anon's gay drama Friends has now come out on VCD, so all those guys who wanted to see it in the cinema but were too afraid of what people might think can now watch it in the privacy of their own homes.

Boyfriend Maiyuu and I watched a rented copy at home today. We were not worried about being spotted together in the cinema, because we never go anywhere together.

I am pleased I finally had the chance to see it, as it is probably the most daring gay story which a major film company has attempted to make into a mainstream Thai film. That, however, is not saying much.

I have seen much better Thai gay films which were mere independent, low-budget productions (the beautiful Down The River comes to mind) - to which Poj Anon could have looked for inspiration, had he been so inclined.

If he had attempted to make a mere gay love story, rather than a thriller, a social commentary, family drama and erotic gay love story rolled into one, the film might have come out looking better. As it is, Friends fails to hit the mark.

The best thing about the film is the cinematography - in particular, the scenes of a grotty Bangkok skyline taken from atop an inner-city building where most of the action between the male leads takes place.

The lighting is moody, the soundtrack moving, the dialogue, in places, inspiring. So what's the problem?

The chaotic story.

Poj Anon is renowned for his kathoey comedies, such as Hor Taew Tak, and the excellent Charlie's Angels spoof, Chai Lai.

Friends (also known as Bangkok Love Story, or เพื่อน...กูรักมึงว่ะ) is his first attempt at a gay drama - a film which he says he has wanted to make all his life.

When it was released, Poj was at pains to stress that Friends was no mere gay love story, but also explored social themes such as Aids, prostitution, and prejudice, and included plenty of action and blood as well. In short, there was something for everybody. Yet it tries to do too much.

The story goes by so fast, and piles on so much misery upon suffering that it loses credibility. By the end of the film, all of the main characters but one are dead - and for one giddy moment in the closing scenes, I thought he might do himself in, too.

Friends is the story of the unfolding and unlikely love affair between a gunman, Mehk, and a policeman, It. The mafia sends Mehk to kill It, but he can't do it. Maybe Mehk saw It's handsome, sensitive features, and decided he wanted to make love to him instead.

Mehk does manage to take It hostage, and hauls him in to see his mafia boss, who demands he kill him on the spot.

It says he can't, as he only kills bad people - so he shoots his mafia boss instead. A shootout follows in which Mehk is injured. It helps him flee the place, and they take shelter atop a grotty city highrise, where the two fall in love.

Mehk feels guilty, as he has never kissed a man before. He sends It away, but It can't stop thinking about his lover, so comes back looking for him. When they are reunited, they make love in the street under the falling rain.

It's wife sees them make love, as does Mehk's mother, who has Aids. After learning that Mehk's younger brother sold himself to make money, his mother attempts to hang herself.

Mehk and his younger brother, who also has Aids, save her in time, but as they carry her outside to seek help, more calamity strikes. Mum is hit by a gunman's bullet intended for Mehk. The mafia want Mehk dead, for betraying them.

Mehk did not kill all his mafia bosses, but before the end of the film we know he will have to go back to finish the job - after which he will no doubt forswear violence and lead a good life. 'If I didn't kill them, they would have killed me,' he tells It in their early bonding scenes, as if to justify his choice of a bloody career as a hitman.

The sequence where Mehk and It make love in the rain, where Mum attempts to hang herself, and where she is finally shot dead takes place in a matter of minutes. The events go by so fast that no one has time to say a thing. Following the worthy tradition of Thai television soap operas, people just scream.

We did not get a chance to know Mum, as she spent most of the film coughing blood into her hand. The relationship which develops between Mehk and his younger brother is more meaningful, though that, too, ends tragically. By the end of the film, both are dead, and It, the policeman, is blind. Can the plight of these characters - with whom, after all, we are supposed to identify - get any worse?

Least convincing is the key event in the film - the unfolding love story between Mehk and It. Poj Anon seemed confused about whether to make a porno flick, or a real love story, where people get to know each other, share memories, explore each other's feelings. In Friends, Poj does away with that stuff - there's just no time.

At times, it looks as if he is merely projecting fantasies - perhaps his own - onto the big screen. Who would I like to make love to me today - a handsome, muscly policeman, or a brooding, muscly bad guy?

The characters lack anchors in their lives. If It is a policeman, why did we never see him at work? No one had any friends...they were all characters adrift in an empty, lonely universe of the mind.

Boyfriend Maiyuu rolled over and went back to sleep. Occasionally, he would wake again and take another look. 'It is so over the top,' he said.

I laughed, starting from the first two or three minutes of the film. Every time tragedy struck, I laughed again. Was this the intended reaction?

Maybe Poj was trying to make a comedy all along, in which case, I commend him. He can now make convincing comedies from slapstick humour and heavy drama alike.