Romantic comedies have a long tradition of legitimizing stalking. The more enthusiastic, the more Romantic. The crazier, the funnier. Remember John Cusack brandishing a boom box over his head in an attempt to woo Ione Skye with a cheesy Peter Gabriel song inSay Anything?

Or remember Ben Stiller hiring a private detective to hunt down his high-school crush, Cameron Diaz, inThere's Something About Mary?

Or remember the title that shows up repeatedly on lists about stalking movies,Love Actually?

Replace those films' respective soundtracks with horror music from, say, a John Carpenter movie, and you'd be scared out of your freaking minds.

This post isn't intended to be social commentary. (There's already plenty of that online:an academic study here,a cultural analysis there

One Daytakes the stalking-as-romance genre to another level because our hero, Denchai (played by my favorite Thai actor, Ter Chantavit Dhanasevi), is a computer whiz with hacker-level skills; i.e., it's quite simple for him to invade the privacy of his coworker, Nui (Nittha Jirayungyurn, making the leap from TV to film here), the object of his supersized affection. Because he secretly gets to know almost everything about her, including normally dismissible details (e.g., her favorite song), he easily tricks her into believing that he's her boyfriend after she comes down with a case of temporary amnesia while they're both on a company trip to Hokkaido, Japan. (A bit of medical science and pure fantasy are in play here, plot-wise.)

If you're able to set aside the creep factor, like I did, and give in to the movie's conceits, you'll recognize that Dhanasevi delivers an appealing performance, despite the fact that he dons a dirty wig, fake teeth, extra weight, and awkward mannerisms expressly for this film. His awkwardness is actually really funny and ultimately endearing, and the depth of his character's alienation becomes rather affecting. Jirayungyurn gets to show off her range as well, emoting on every end of the spectrum.

Many of the Thai movies I've seen are all over the map tonally.One Daywill traffic in broad comedy one minute, get wildly romantic the next, and then dive straight into the abyss of sorrow. I love the emotional shifts. I also admire how the film embraces genre tropes, but then veers into unexpected territory just when you thought you had the whole thing figured out. No spoilers here; suffice it to say the film left me a bit blindsided when all was said and done. That's a very good thing. And if I could deliver that message to the filmmakers by using a boom box from the eighties, I would.

Thai Movie Central Rating

How to Watch the Full Movie (with Thai Audio and English Subtitles)

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Additional Notes

Chantavit Dhanasevi,Nontra Kumwong, andBanjong Pisanthanakun, with direction from Pisanthanakun—the same team who made the hit movies,Hello Stranger (2010), which is set mostly in South Korea, andPee Mak (2013), a comedy/horror/romance that is the highest-grossing film ever in Thailand.

—Director Banjong Pisanthanakun also helmed the horror movies,Shutter(2004), one of the scariest films I have ever seen, andAlone(2007), which is about a Siamese twin who returns from the dead.

—Chantavit Dhanasevihas also starred in a string of other hit comedies:Hello Stranger (2010)

GDH 559 or GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness)

the annual Sapporo Snow Festivalplays a key role:

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

—The Thai title of this movie is แฟนเดย์ แฟนกันแค่วันเดียว, which roughly means "lovers day, lovers together for just one day."

—Movie images and video © GDH 559, Gracie Films, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films, and DNA Films.

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