• Director/Mood collector: Tanwarin Sukkhapisit
• Starring Warinporn Sukkhapisit, Paradee Tungtan, Jitsukum Puangpech, Nat Vikitsetr, Napas Gloves, Dujdarin Sukkhapisit, Sinut Kamukamakul, Jaruda Mugkun, Ratchana Nimjareonpong, Rojsuwan Promprawat, Sujitra Kemkaew, Walida Chaiyapo, Phannrudee Thoobthong, Ungwara Phuengtham, Stephanie Heringka, Pattaranut Anantasirijinda
• Screened on September 8, 2007 at the Thai Film Foundation's Digital Forum, 80 minutes

Have you ever received a phone call from someone dialling a wrong number, and end up chatting enjoyably with the stranger?

I have. I believe it's a phenomenon unique to Thai culture, where there is no taboo against asking strangers deeply personal questions about their jobs, how much they earn, where they live, how much their rent is, their age, their relationship status, etc. And while I haven't yet gotten far enough along in these strange conversations to get to these questions, I have had some enjoyable chats with callers who dialled my number by mistake. It starts out innocently enough, with the caller confirming the number they've dialled. But it doesn't end there. They want to know who I am, and whether I know the person they are calling. If I'm curious, I can ask the same questions.

This is what happens to one of the characters portrayed in Phone Mood, an independent digital film by Tanwarin Sukkhapisit. The film follows the phone interactions of 16 women of various class backgrounds and ages, including a little girl who can hardly use the phone.

The woman who ends up talking all afternoon with a stranger who dialled a wrong number is a young unemployed woman sitting around alone in her apartment. The phone call was the highlight of her day.

Some of the characters are linked, or at least there's a link implied. One woman driving her car is told by her friend that her friend has been sleeping with her boyfriend, so on one end the driver is getting the bad news, while one the other end her friend is detailing the dirty business with glee. Another linked pair is a mother (actually the director's mum) who runs a food stall who needs her daughter to come to work, but it's Saturday, and the daughter is in Siam Square, hoping to hook up with some friends.

Another character takes an obscene call, from man who wants to have phone sex. The transgendered man taking the call just wants the guy to come over, and doesn't want to engage in phone sex, yet is quite explicit and coarse in telling the caller what she'll do to him.

Another couple of women don't even answer their phones. One woman, who's very upset, refuses to even touch her ringing phone. Another woman is dodging her calls, and imitates a voice mail message when she answers.

There's no gimmickry like split screens or flashy editing. Whenever a character is on screen, the focus is on her and the conversation on her end only. The effect is engaging, and I actually cared about the characters, and was alternately entertained, moved, even mortified.

Overall, Phone Mood is an compelling look at Thai people and how their lives are so wrapped up with their cellphones.

(Cross-published at Rotten Tomatoes)