Pop Aye (2017) Review: A Man, an Elephant, a Long Walk

Is Pop Aye worth watching?

Yes, with some reservations. Pop Aye is a charming and quietly sad road movie with an unforgettable central image: a middle-aged man and an elephant walking together across Thailand. Kirsten Tan’s debut feature finds real feeling in a premise that could have been a gimmick, and her deadpan humour keeps sentiment at bay. The catch is that the film drifts as much as its hero does, and viewers who want a clear dramatic arc may find it slight.

What is Pop Aye about?

Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh) is an architect in Bangkok whose best days seem to be behind him. The landmark building that made his name is falling out of favour, younger colleagues are overtaking him, and his marriage to Bo (Penpak Sirikul) has cooled into routine. Then, on a city street, he spots an elephant he is convinced is the one he grew up with as a boy in the countryside.

On impulse, he buys the animal and sets off on foot to take it back to the village where they spent their childhood. The journey north becomes a string of encounters with strangers on the margins of Thai life, each of them reflecting some part of what Thana has lost or put aside.

Pop Aye is written and directed by Tan, a Singaporean filmmaker. It is a Singaporean production shot in Thailand in Thai, runs 104 minutes, and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won a prize for its screenplay.

An elephant as the film’s silent co-star

The elephant, played by a real animal named Bong, is the film’s great asset. Tan never turns Popeye into a cartoon or gives him human reactions; he is simply a large, patient, slightly mysterious presence, and the film is funnier and more moving for that restraint. Scenes of man and elephant plodding along highways, past petrol stations and through small towns have a gentle absurdity that keeps the film buoyant.

The photography treats the Thai landscape without postcard gloss. Roadsides, cheap bars and half-built developments sit alongside rice fields, and the contrast between Bangkok’s glass towers and the countryside gives Thana’s journey a quiet argument about progress and what it erases.

A midlife crisis told without self-pity

Thaneth Warakulnukroh gives a lovely, understated lead performance. Thana is not especially likeable at first: proud, stubborn, a little self-absorbed. Warakulnukroh lets the audience see the hurt underneath without asking for sympathy, and his silences with the elephant say more than his conversations with people.

Tan’s script is at its best in the side encounters along the road, where brief meetings with other lonely people carry unexpected weight. These scenes share the film’s tone of wry sadness, and they widen the story from one man’s midlife blues into something about a whole society leaving people behind.

Where the road gets long

The episodic structure is both the film’s charm and its weakness. Some encounters feel more developed than others, and the pacing in the middle stretch slackens noticeably. Flashbacks to Thana’s youth are handled gracefully but add little new. The emotional payoff is modest by design, and viewers expecting a crowd-pleasing animal adventure should adjust expectations: this is an art-house drama first.

Who should watch Pop Aye?

It suits viewers who enjoy slow, character-driven road movies, dry humour and films about ageing and belonging. It is also an easy recommendation for anyone who loves animals on screen, since the elephant is treated with care. At 104 minutes it is not long, but it moves at a walking pace. There is some mild language, brief sexual content and themes of loneliness and regret, so it is best for teenagers and adults.

If it appeals, try these next:

• How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, a warmer Thai family drama with the same mix of humour and sorrow.
• A Useful Ghost, another deadpan, offbeat Thai story built on a surreal premise.
• Tropical Malady, for a far more mysterious journey from city to countryside.

The verdict

Pop Aye is a small, lovely film that turns an absurd premise into a thoughtful meditation on getting older and going home. It meanders and occasionally loses momentum, but Tan’s wry touch, Warakulnukroh’s performance and one very memorable elephant make it worth the walk.

Rating: 3.5/5