Happy Berry

Smooth and occasionally shameless cinéma vérité documentary about a group of very smooth and occasionally very shameless young people in Bangkok. The film maker follows them as if he were one of them. A group of very trendy young Thai people run the very fashionable clothing store Happy Berry together. They have taken the plunge in international youth culture. Designing and making clothing is just one part. Once you have the coolest clothing, you also have to go to the coolest venues to show off, and then take off the clothes in the coolest company. The Happy Berry kids do not restrict themselves to fashion. They also started a pop group with a fair degree of success. They’re not famous yet, but they know all too well how to behave when you’re famous, what sex acts to try out, what drugs are fashionable. The theory about the so-called fly-on-the-wall method in documentary films like this, where the people being filmed get so used to the camera they forget about it, has to be adjusted for the latest generation of Asian kids. They are so eager to be onscreen that even their subconscious keeps a continuous eye on the camera. Making the film looks as if it were one big happy game. Which guarantees great pleasure for the viewer too. (GjZ)