Wonderful Town has nothing to do with the 1953 Broadway musical of the same name, although a few songs would liven it up. Allegedly, this Thai drama examines the l
ong-term psychological aftereffects of the devastating 2004 tsunami. The story concerns a young architect who comes to a small coastal town on a job involving the rebuilding on a luxury hotel. He stays at a much plainer hotel, and falls in love with the woman running the place. She’s moderately charming, he isn’t, and everything moves like a tortoise on downers. Any real statements about these two people as individuals or post-traumatic stress disorder in general never get through.
If you’re feeling masochistic, you can catch Wonderful Town at the Pacific Film Archive on Wednesday at 8:45, or catch the planned theatrical release.
