Fah Pieng Din (2022)

"Fah Pieng Din" (which means "When the Sky Falls") were one of the anticipated lakhorns for me in year 2022 and i was giddily excited when the trailer got released. We have the beautiful actress Prang Kannarun playing our brave heroine Chompoo who had to change her name into Sarika to hide from the villains, and our very charismatic actor Film Thanapat portraying the arrogant and slightly mad anti-hero Thewarat. In their reunion...the sky fell on the earth without Chompoo & Thewarat realizing it. It was a destined meeting and a rather explosive one since they despise each other on sight. This was a unforgettable love-story, with action and lots of drama mixed in. I loved this journey.

I love the scenery in this lakhorn, the nature and the animals and the buildings. All of it were beautiful. To top it all the main-leads are beautiful as well. Everytime Thewarat glanced at Chompoo, even in anger...goosebumps would attack me all over again. He was so drawn to her and he fell so hard for her. Even Chompoo wondered when their love started. According to me, it started when they were kids, thinking they were biological siblings. Not only were they playmates, but both cared for each other in a more mature level than most children usually do. Don`t get me wrong, their love was innocent, but it was there and it was destined to only bloom into the love a man and woman have for each other when they become adults. Exactly as it happened to Chompoo & Thewarat when they reunited. Chompoo doesn`t know this handsome caring brother of hers anymore when they meet again, he has turned into a stranger talking in only the ways of money. He is hateful, arrogant and such a snob he makes her want to slap him hard in the face. Which she also does later on,lol. But she also doesn`t realize how broken his soul actually is, how madness is there lingering in his mind, eating at his heart. Living with a guardian that has made his life a living hell ever since he lost Chompoo and their father. That guardian is the main villian Pitak, portrayed by the iconic actor Captain Phutanate who by the way also portrayed Thewarat in the 2001 version of "Fah Pieng Din".

Since the story is set in 60s and yearly 70s in Thailand, this was a very brutal and barbaric times. So expect lots of violence in this story. It is quite cruel in what Chompoo & Thewarat goes through in this story. Your heart breaks for them since both are victims of such terrible deceits in this story. Thewarat`s breakdown was to be expected, Film managed to portray and give a heart to this complex character. I just could not help but love him, he tried so hard to sustain his goodness. He tried to make up for the bad stuff he did by hurting himself, he made me cry in his utter pain and loneliness and helplessness of his empty life. Only Chompoo could give him happiness and solace to his soul. He never expected it, he did not want it. But he did embrace it with a brave mind.I love how he stood his ground and fought hard to win Chompoo`s love and trust. Even when he did come to the realization that Sarika is Chompoo (and he thinks they are biological siblings) he still could not leave her as a brother or lover. His heartbreak when he came to the realization that Sarika is Chompoo made me cry rivers.

Prang is a actress i have come to truly love in all the lakhorns i have seen her in supporting roles ("Sai Lub Ruk Puan" and "Love Destiny") and i always wanted her to have a awesome lead role. Finally got it here. She looked absolutely BEAUTIFUL as Chompoo/ Sarika and gave a incredible performance in highlighting the classiness of the character mixed with a badass confident attitude in where she mouthed facts to EVERYONE who wanted to cross her, especially our leading male Thewarat,LOL. Ahhh, how she infuriated him in the early episodes. I loved it. Also what a stunning picture she made when she played the violin in that white/pink dress,just wow. Not surprised at all that Thewarat could not stop stare at her, or with him even announcing that they are getting engaged in front of the whole audience. Just awesome, i love it. I love this lakhorn, do not regret watching it at all!

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Could have been so much better...

I was itching for a new period lakorn and was excited to watch this, however, this turned out to be such a mess!

First of all, a warning to anyone who cannot stomach animals being killed in shows, this show has a cow and a horse being killed! The horse was a pet of the ML and he actually shot the horse himself to prove to the FL that his pride is bigger than a mere pet. I hated him after that and his character could not be redeemed for me. A pet is a part of your family, it's something that you nurtured and raised and for the ML to kill it in cold blood was disgusting. The scriptwriters tried to portray him as a troubled character who has been brought up wrong (nature vs nurture being explored horribly), however, anyone with an iota of humanity would never shoot their own pet animal to prove their masculinity and pride. He apparently feels remorse after the fact, but thats too little, too late. It's like saying I shot someone dead because I was mad, I'm sorry, but at that point, being sorry just doesn't cut it. It doesn't change the fact that you are a murderer. It wasn't an accident, but an active choice and mens rea was there. You would be jailed if the entity being shot was a person.

Moreover, the ML apparently turns 360 degrees in terms of character after spending time with the FL? So, the writers want us to believe that he always had goodness. He just needed this one girl to come into his life to teach him how to be good, even though he had countless people around him (aside from his 'uncle') who actively try and remind him to be a good person. This is the bottom of the barrel for characterization. The shift is too fast and makes little to no sense. The FL on the other hand has no character growth, however her character is likeable as she's not a pushover and actually stands up for herself. The evil villains have no depth to them, they are mere caricatures of bad guys who want money above all. So in all, most characters are bland and the one character that could have been interesting turns bland at the drop of a hat after he gets to know the FL.

Also, this is a period drama, but so much of the set and even the costumes look like they would be just fine in a modern drama, The clothes look mass-produced and ready-made and so many places in the set have architecture that looks too modern. The story could have been set in the modern time and it wouldn't make one bit of a difference (DNA test, notwithstanding).

Lastly, the story had so many flaws and loopholes. So many times the characters are choking and trying to kill the FL in FRONT of other people (who are the good guys) and the characters just brush it off, like it's nothing big?? I mean, you see someone being choked and abused and you don't even question it? The lack of logic and odd reactions from the characters was so jarring, it took me out of scenes. The fact that this show is a remake and has been remade multiple times really shows it's age, but it's the writers job to update the show to fit current standards and they failed epically.

Overall, the show was well acted, but lacked a cohesive story and characterization was all over the place. The writers need to go back to the drawing board and really work on the lack of logic showcased in this lakorn.

P.S.
At the time I am writing this review, this show has a rating of 8. I think I know why writers and directors feel like it's okay to write garbage shows and storylines. People give this crap a pass and more garbage keeps getting made based on feedback that producers are receiving.

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