Two words: mind blowing. Bangkok Love Story brought tears to my eyes while keeping me on the edge of my seat. The story moved at a perfect pace although it sometimes felt like the characters were going through an unlikely series of unfortunate events. Although it is at times over-the-top, Bangkok Love Story will stun viewers with its violent gunfights, thrilling chases, and, of course, erotic love scenes. As an added bonus, the treatment of HIV/AIDS in this movie was both touching and thoughtfully done. The film is in Thai with English subtitles.

In Bangkok, two drop-dead gorgeous men deal with their love for one another in a violent drug culture. Iht, or Cloud in the English subtitles, is a sexy cop trying to break the mob from the inside while living with his wife in their posh apartment. Greasy-haired, but no less attractive, Maek (Fog) attempts to make ends meet as a lone assassin while keeping his brother’s HIV and his mother’s AIDS at bay. To keep his family afloat, Maek executes contracted hits on people that his big-time, Thai crime boss promises are “bad guys.”

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Maek is contracted to kidnap Iht, but readily repents when he learns of his boss’s true motives. In a thrilling escape scene, Maek is wounded by a stray bullet. Their budding love comes to full flower after Iht nurses Maek back to health. These young hunks’ passion hits some road blocks when Iht hides his relationship from his wife and Maek battles his aversion to same-sex love. In a homophobic atmosphere, it seems increasingly unlikely that these two will end up together. A tasteful love scene serves as a catalyst for the downward spiral of their love.

The camera angles and lighting effects created a perfect artistic rendering of passion and romance. Love scenes were done realistically while keeping our couple’s romance from becoming part of a cliché action/passion flick. The make-up in the final scenes could have been better applied, but the overall effect was very appealing. Overall, I have few complaints with this thought-out and nearly perfect drama.

Writer and director Poj Arnon creates dynamic love-making scenes that keep the viewer crying out for more. He sometimes falls too deeply into an unlikely prince and pauper melodrama, but he manages to pull himself out without derailing the storyline. We can expect great things from Arnon in the future if his subsequent films are even half as good as Bangkok Love Story.

A tear-jerker, this film is an edgy tale of star-crossed lovers and would be perfect for cuddling by the fire.