A study of spaces in Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit's 'Happy Old Year'

Space is both an overarching theme and visual signifier in Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit's Happy Old Year. Its protagonist, Jean (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) comes home from a lengthy stay abroad, determined to declutter her life, and along with it, old things that belong to a past she is desperately running away from.

As we watch Jean plan the redesign of their family house into a more spacious and minimalist residential office, we also witness the transformation of the persons that inhabit the house, as well as their connection to other people, most of them absent from the frame.

Jean the destroyer

Millennials have often been criticized for being rash with their actions, and for having their way, no matter what. The filmmaker, a millennial himself, understands this stigma, and subliminally argues that millennials are the way they are because of a multitude of factors: rising cost of living, the evolution of discourse as a result of technology (such as film streaming services, from which this movie was made available), and the destruction of society caused by older generations. In fact, a huge chunk of Jean's scars were caused by the absenteeism of her father, and her mother's refusal to move on.

Hence, Jean is on a mission to clean her surroundings, hoping in the process that she also gets to be free of the memories that still haunt her.

In a massive undertaking that will put Marie Kondo to shame (the woman is also referenced here a number of times), Jean begins throwing away stuff into garbage bags. Meanwhile, she also returns the items that are not hers.

When people throw away items that were given to them, we rarely get to see what effect it brings on the giver. Not here. In one scene, Pink (Padcha Kitchaicharoen), Jean's friend tasked with the house renovation, sees a CD she once gave to Jean, now gathered together with items meant for disposal. A mini-confrontation ensues, but Pink takes the moral high ground and concedes. In Nawapol's argumentation, things that belong to the past should stay in the past (a claim which he would later rebuke).

Jean's mission to return items to their owners takes a life of its own: while others were delighted with the gesture, some grew agitated with the reopening of old wounds that come with the mementos.

In one bittersweet subplot, a former classmate who is getting married soon asks for an old photo Jean took of him and his soon-to-be-wife. Jean frustratingly accepts this task that she put upon herself, even if it meant having to reconnect with her ex.

Aim high

Not until halfway through the film does Jean's ex appear, after several casual mentions in the first half. On a quest to clear her conscience and attain closure, Jean brings a box of old items to Aim's doorstep.

Unsurprisingly, Aim (Sunny Suwanmethanont), has a new girlfriend. What is surprising is that the new girl, Mi (Sarika Sathsilpsupa) is anything but hostile. She even accepts the soup that Jean cooked for them. If it was a Filipino or a Mexican telenovela, by this time someone would have already been poisoned.

Jean has several more encounters with Aim, including another trip to the latter's house to scour for earlier mentioned elusive photograph, and a dinner at their favorite noodle shack, with Mi in tow.

Perhaps the most poignant scene, before a big confrontation near the end, is Aim and Jean's visit to the grave of Aim's mother. Aim did not inform Jean that her mother died a year ago, which broke Jean, especially after learning the details of the mother's final hours. It could be inferred that Jean was pretty close to the mother.

Obviously, Jean wanted to pursue her career in interior design, which meant having to leave Aim. But wasn't there a way that Jean can have both her career and Aim in her life?

The film was strategically written so that the protagonist would be viewed either as a selfish bastard, or a realist, depending on where you stand. I tend to root for the idea that Jean was selfish, because she cut ties with people, including Aim, without giving them time to process her departure, or her choice.

This brings me to the final confrontation, wherein Aim took aim (pun intended) at Jean for trying to make herself feel better, saying sorry after all this time. Jean could have admitted she was selfish, and that would have been enough, but she wanted to be forgiven.

The space between us

Throughout the film, the spatial relations among characters, in relation to their surroundings, highlights the evolution of their relationships. At first, Jean found the process of decluttering a nerve-wracking endeavor, signified by the overcrowding of the visual space around her.

Nevertheless, it had to be done. As Jean throws more and more away, her surroundings become more spacious, and her aura calmer. 

When she decides all of a sudden to recover all the trash, for fear that she might have thrown something valuable, her character journey takes a step back. She is back in her own mess, as signified by her surroundings.

In the end, when she sells the much-disputed piano that belonged to her estranged father, the house felt different, as if there was now room to breathe.

But was Jean happy with all that has happened? She knows that Aim will most likely never talk to her again, and she couldn't be friends with Mi, despite her good intentions. Her mother will also hate her guts for quite some time for selling the piano. 

In the end, Jean did what must be done. The healing will come eventually. But right now, it damn feels like a thousand gut punches. Nawapol frames her protagonist in close up for the final shot, denoting the claustrophobia that Jean must now be feeling. She is both free and trapped by the decisions she made. Until when her pain will linger, only she can decide for herself.  

(With inputs from Kayo Jolongbayan, Anne de Ocampo and Danniele Meneses)