Love You to Debt (2024)

Enchanting & thought provoking, a showcase of complexity of love and debt in a Thai context.

"In debt, you must pay back, but in love, there's no need to return the heart."

Han Dong-Wook's 2014 Korean film "Man in Love," gets remade into Taiwanese (2021) and Thai versions, the latter titled "Love You To Debt" in 2024.

The narrative consistently follows a debt collector who falls for a debtor struggling to care for her terminally ill father while trying to settle her debts. This leads to an unusual proposition: dates in exchange for debt reduction. Their relationship, sparked by financial necessity, slowly blooms into genuine affection.

Directed by Wa-Wasuthep Ketpetch, known for his work on the Thai teen series "The Gifted," this film marks his directorial debut. The screenplay, crafted by Malila and Onthakarn, features Bright-Vachirawit Chivaaree and Yaya-Urassaya Sperbund in leading roles.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of Pattaya, the film captures the essence of this bustling tourist hub and its hidden, sleepless underworld. Despite its serious undertones about debt, the Thai adaptation infuses the story with a distinctive local flavor, blending comedy, action, and charming dating scenes. However, as the narrative deepens, the weight of debt brings about profound struggles, casting a shadow over the blossoming romance.

Bright-Vachirawit, portraying the protagonist, brings depth to his role as a lovesick debt collector. His performance is a seamless blend of intensity and vulnerability, particularly in his interactions with Yaya-Urassaya's character, Im. Their chemistry transforms every scene they share into a vivid depiction of conflicted emotions—joy in love contrasted with the harsh realities of their lives.

In a remarkable commitment to authenticity, Bright performed all his stunts, bearing both the physical and emotional weight of his character. His transformation into the scarred, tattooed Bo involved an extensive makeup process, adding layers to his portrayal of a man navigating the harsh world of debt collection while harboring a tender love.

Yaya Urassaya's portrayal of Im reflects a woman burdened yet resilient, adapting her vocal tones and demeanor to authentically convey a spectrum of emotions. This nuanced performance ensures that viewers feel the weight of her struggles and the strength of her spirit.

The film's aesthetic, from the vivid Hawaiian shirts worn by Bo to Im's modest flea market attire, visually represents their worlds and personalities, mirroring Pattaya's colorful landscape.

"Love You to Debt" is not just a film but a cultural dialogue tailored to resonate with Thai audiences, offering a fresh perspective on familiar themes of love and financial hardship. Wasuthep and his team have skillfully adapted the original story's essence to engage local viewers, making it a reflective and entertaining exploration of life's burdens and beauties.

Recommended.

(Translated and edited for brevity and readability from a review in Thai by @PooChaiKonNun https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=%E0%B8%9C%E0%B8%B9%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B1%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B7%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%89%20%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%98%E0%B8%AD%20%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%8C%20%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%8A%20)

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Profound, thought provoking, Wong Kar-Wai inspired, the movie will worm into your heart.

“Love You To Debt” At first, I thought it was a teenage romcom with forced laughs. Not at all. It’s a drama about Thai society viewed through an improbable love between a debtor & debt collector. The movie is a remake of Korean “Man In Love”. There are many beautiful scenes, some with influences of Hong Kong movies. Wong Kar-Wai provides inspiration for several scenes.
The movie is more profound than anticipated, giving you good food for thought, entertainment, philosophical perspective on life partnership, or even as a cautionary tale on what not to do in life. In the end, it worms its way to my heart. After watching, it’d be best to be neither a debtor or a lender. And if you are in love, hope the two will make each others’ lives better.
(Translated from a review in Thai by movie critic Phitsanulok Review.)

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Great performance by the main leads and decent adaption

Great efforts noted by both the main artist to adapt to the already hit version of the movie. Bright transformation throughout the movie is commendable. His transition from happy go lucky to serious whenever character demand is obvious. Yaya the senior artist proves yet again why she is one of the top Thai actress. Her helpless innocent girl character is great.

Awesome chemistry is already making waves within the industry. You will get butterflies seeing them together onscreen. They support each other well as lovers on screen.

Thai influence on the storyline for the Thai adaption is intelligent move. It gives new outlook to the story. Changes in story and other casts for this adaption.

I rate high because of the clean adaption and artists performance. Must Watch

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Awesome movie. Already enjoyed theatre version, waiting for Netflix release .

Already watched the entire movie on theatre. It was great experience.
At 1st had normal expectations, as it is already made twice. But detailing changes in Thail version is welcomed suprised.
Both the lead artist is testimony why they are popular worldwide. Bright solidified his position as rising star with this performance. This was not his regular romantic boy role. He brought his own nuances to the character. The Pataya boy influence. Yaya as innocent beautiful with strong presence, emoting subtle expression apt for her character. Both the artist did justice to their roles.
Overall professional performance. Would recommend not to miss watching it, if it's getting released around you or in your country online

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A Surprising Gem that Redefines Expectations

When I heard the movie is available on Netflix, I decided to watch it with no expectations — after all, it’s a GMMTV production, just another Thai idol movie full of pretty faces.

But I found myself wrong!! I completely captivated by the movie!!

Despite being the third remake after the original version, the story unfolds with a sense of raw authenticity that immediately draws you in, and this is largely thanks to the compelling performances by Yaya and Bright. Both actors bring a natural, unpolished quality to their roles, which feels refreshing and genuine. Yaya, in particular, does an outstanding job of building a dynamic connection with Bright on screen, creating a unique chemistry that, while awkward at moments, adds depth to the narrative. It’s evident that Yaya manages to pull Bright out of his comfort zone, encouraging him to explore a broader emotional range and add more nuance to his performance.

What truly stands out in "Love You To Debt" is the surprising balance between lighthearted moments and deeper, more meaningful themes. The film explores the complexities of relationships and personal growth, and the chemistry between the two leads feels both sincere and relatable. There’s a certain charm in how their characters interact, highlighting the awkwardness and unpredictability of real-life connections. Even though it is the third remake, the film brings a fresh perspective and a new energy that makes it feel just as original and engaging as the first. It’s a testament to the director’s vision and the actors' talent that this version stands out on its own.

For Bright, this film could serve as a critical portfolio piece that helps him break away from his well-known persona as a BL (Boys' Love) actor and his idol image from "F4 Thailand." His performance in this role demonstrates his versatility and range, showing that he is capable of much more than the types of roles he has previously been associated with. This could be a significant step in expanding his horizons and paving the way for more diverse and challenging roles in the future, which would be highly beneficial for his acting career - if he wants to.

The film would likely have been even more successful had it been released before "Lahn Mah" and prior to any controversy surrounding the lead actor’s (Bright) personal life. It's unfortunate that such a trivial matter — his dating life — overshadowed his talent on screen. If not for the social media drama, this movie had all the ingredients to become a potential blockbuster.

The film is further elevated by its strong technical elements. The editing is sharp, ensuring a smooth narrative flow that keeps viewers engaged from start to finish. Additionally, the soundtrack plays a significant role in enhancing the emotional undertone of the story. In particular, the song "นะหน้าทอง" by โจอี้ ภูวศิษฐ์ (JOEY PHUWASIT) resonates beautifully with the film's themes and adds another layer of depth to the viewing experience.

Overall, "Love You To Debt" is a surprisingly heartfelt and engaging film that blends good acting, genuine chemistry, and solid production values. It's a delightful watch that leaves a lasting impression, proving that sometimes the best discoveries are the ones you least expect — even if they come as the third version of a familiar story.

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A powerfully moving, heartfelt, and bittersweet portrait of love, life, and the cycle of poverty

I immediately love the color that permeates the film which are often seen on the clothing of all the characters, especially the debt collector Bo wonderfully played by Bright Vachirawit who disappears into his character that puts on brightly colored shirts to collect the interest due from his debtors. I really like that this story isn't just cut off at 90 minutes, the 2 hour runtime is put to good use really exploring the character dynamics of Bo and his various relationships. Bo and Im played by Yaya have fantastic chemistry as the relationship that's the heart of the film.

Bo is such a fascinating character, he didn't finish high school and he is capable of violence, but he's also creative and can think outside of the box to get his job done in unorthodox ways. He intimidates by his signature move of striking himself bloody on the head and later either finds jobs or gets more business for the people who owes money to pay their dues. He leaves their lives better than he found it. With Im , he tracks her down to her banker job where she gets suspended probably for making a scene that scared all the customers, so he comes up with a interest forgiveness system where he'll use his own money to pay off her interest depending on the scale of activities on dates that he's also using his own money to pay for. All the charm and charisma that Bright brings to Bo is what keeps all of this on the cute funny side that slowly melts Im's understandable initial iciness towards Bo as she sees him take care of her comatose father in addition to the one who was the one who found and got him to the hospital in the first place as well as going viral online for creatively helping his debtors get income to pay him. Im's life is also really relatable as even an university education still can't get her a job that gives her any financial stability. Her father was too consumed with debt to have been able to help her either and devastatingly is only able to free her from his own debt in death as she's able to get a refund on a cremation fund he had been paying for. She looks dreamily at the Hilton hotel as an idealized place that people like her will never step foot into in her lifetime. She opens herself up to happiness and planning a future together with Bo which is when things go wrong as he tries to take a shortcut to help her with one last job that of course goes awry and his boss screws him over which screws Im over with her life savings completely gone, leaving her being scammed to scammed others by her crush at the bank who also seems to keep her as a side piece, while Bo discovers his worsening health condition that he has no money to treat in prison. It's so heartbreaking that all of his head trauma both self inflicted and fights with rival gangs took a real physical toll on him, shortening his life as he helped others with theirs intentionally or not. It's truly chills in the scene where Bo faces down his old boss who coldly responds to his sincerely asking her to return Im's money, so he does the only thing that people like her understand which is to put both their lives on the line. Debtors always pay their debt. Just as the injury had built up in his body, so had the karma with the people he had help and they visit him once more to help with setting up Im's shop. He spends a happy time with the love of his life, his family, and his friends. The postmortem letter he leaves Im to cheer her on from the after life is really powerful, moving, and relatable. Treasure yourself, and if you don't know where to go or what to do, just stay still and breath, just get through the day.

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POOR YAYA

The storyline of this film is quite interesting, but Bright Vachirawit's acting is very bad. My eyes hurt every time I see his face, his expression is very bad, his lips are not symmetrical making it difficult for the audience to appreciate the role of the male lead here. Yaya acted very well. Poor Yaya, because she has to act with an actor who is not talented like Bright. I think this film needs to be boycotted, because Bright seems to be supporting bad guys. You must be confused about what it means? but please go to X, and see how angry netizens are at Bright because of his bad behavior.

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