Inhuman Kiss director Sitisiri "Dome" Mongkolsiri has returned with Hunger, his latest film and first collaboration effort with streaming giant Netflix. Hunger is an emotional rollercoaster of a drama that uses the world of culinary arts as a medium for exposing human ambition, greed and the class divides of society.
The film was recently selected to represent Thailand in the APAC Film Showcase, an event held at Netflix's offices in Seoul, South Korea, and where Sitisiri also appeared as a guest speaker alongside other directors and show creators from throughout Asia. Among other nations with content at the event were Korea (Kill Boksoon), India (Lust Stories 2), Australia (Run Rabbit Run), Indonesia (The Big 4) and Japan (Zom 100 Bucket List Of The Dead).
In a one-on-one interview with Life, Sitisiri said: "The story in Hunger revolves around food as we are a foodie country, and the lead female character here is a normal person who we see in daily life in Thailand. However, the plot is a bit dark, and it also reveals different societal problems and aspects."
The director continued: "Sometimes this type of story can be hard to find finance, to find people who understand a show like this.
"So, I'd like to say thanks to Netflix who invited me to this showcase event, and for giving me the freedom to do something this extreme, because I think it's very important for the movie industry in Thailand to give more variety to viewers."
Billed as "The Menu meets Whiplash", Hunger stars Chutimon "Aokbab" Chuengcharoensukying (Bad Genius) as Aoy, an ambitious street cook who's running her family's noodle restaurant.
Dreaming of escaping poverty and to be someone "special", Aoy accepts an invitation to join the fine-dining elite at Hunger, a renowned private culinary team run by the infamous chef Paul (Nopachai "Peter" Chaiyanam).
However, under the tutelage of the ruthless chef Paul, who treats his team members in the kitchen like soldiers in an army, Aoy soon discovers the dark side of an elite world, and that being special isn't necessarily the same as what she was hoping for.
"While we use food to move the story along, the story is not just about hunger for food, but the hunger that is inside us all. It's about how far you're willing to go to get what's important to you. And this movie highlights some of these various issues," said Sitisiri.
The script for Hunger was co-written by Sitisiri's friend and long-time collaborator Kongdej Jaturanrasamee, who was also scriptwriter for Sitisiri's 2013 breakthrough horror film Last Summer.
"Honestly, we didn't have much knowledge about the food industry and the business, so while writing the script for Hunger, I remember that Kongdej had to go out and interview so many chefs around the city to get more information," Sitisiri recalled. "The difficulty while working on the project was more in the knowledge aspect. There was a lot of research to be done because it was a whole new world we had to understand."
Much like collaborating with scriptwriter Kongdej, Sitisiri believes that working with the right actors is vitally important, and he mentions Chutimon and Nopachai as actors of a high calibre who helped ensure high-quality filmmaking.
"There's no doubt that I always wanted to work with a brilliant actor like Peter [Nopachai], and we had him in mind for the role of chef Paul right from the start. I'm also so happy that we later cast Aokbab for the lead female role," he said. "I was impressed by her talent after watching her previous films like Bad Genius and Happy Old Year, and those performances convinced me her versatility would help me to perfect my film."
During a career spanning cinema and streaming, Sitisiri has seen the film industry in Thailand change dramatically. He acknowledges he had to adapt to keep up with the times.
"As for the Thai film industry situation, even before Covid we wondered whether the arrival of Netflix and other streaming services would help or hurt us. But in the past three or four years, I feel that they have actually helped people in the movie business here," he said.
"Of course, with people watching movies on the small screen of a computer and on even tinier mobile phone screens, this has made me worry they won't be able to see all the important details and beauty of a movie that the creators intended, like they can at the cinema. But in the end, I came to the idea of not wasting my time worrying. Because we as filmmakers are responsible for making the best movies. That alone should be enough."
Hunger is now streaming worldwide on Netflix.
