Thai family film hits home with Chinese viewers

'How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies' boldly explores the intricate dimensions of affection, avarice, and selflessness in Asia, a region where familial bonds are frequently considered inviolable.

Directed by Pat Boonnitipat, the film has won plaudits and been a commercial success. It hit the Chinese theaters in late September and has enthralled the local audiences.

The film boasts an amazing rating of 8.9/10 on Douban, China's equivalent of IMDb, and has captivated over 208,000 viewers.

A story of greed, love, and redemption

The film depicts the deeply ingrained intricacies of a Thai-Chinese family who came from Chaoshan, Guangzhou.

"I'm half Cantonese and half Hakka, so Chinese by blood," Boonnitipat said. "Growing up with these traditions gave me memories that are very special. The movie is my insight into what it's like to be born as a Thai-Chinese person in Thailand."

The film revolves around M, a university dropout turned video game streamer played by Putthipong "Billkin" Assaratanakul. M moves in to care for his grandmother, hoping to secure the house as his inheritance after she passes away.

But this story is not as straightforward as it appears. Family members circle like vultures, each with their own agenda, as Grandma, played by Usha "Taew" Seamkhum, serves as both a symbol of affection and a pawn in their pursuit for wealth.

What distinguishes Boonnitipat's representation is his ability to reveal the dichotomy of family love – how acts of compassion can be contaminated by avarice, and yet, through these faulty intentions, true affection emerges.

Unmasking family dynamics

Boonnitipat reveals the less glamorous reasons behind the characters' love for Grandma in a film about familial affection.

M, inspired by his cousin Mui's success in securing a villa by caring for her own grandfather, is initially driven by self-interest.

Meanwhile, Grandma's youngest son – a gambler – constantly asks her for money, and her eldest son is fixated on property deeds as her health declines.

M's mother, Sew, is the only one who truly cares for her, but even she fears others' judgment if she doesn't meet expectations.

As M becomes more involved in his grandmother's daily life, he starts to see her not just as a means to an inheritance but as a person. One key moment comes when he carefully cleans the hair off her clothes after chemotherapy while she sleeps – a small act that symbolizes his growing affection.

For Boonnitipat, this is a turning point. "When M accompanies Grandma to a temple with his uncle's family, he realizes they don't even include her in their prayers. That's when he feels protective for the first time."

Grandma's love for M is equally complex. Even when she learns that he is trying to sell her house, she continues to save money for him. Boonnitipat explains, "She feels disappointed, but then blames herself, wondering if she raised her children wrong. Despite everything, she believes M has potential – after all, he was once top of his class."

The film's emotional climax arrives when M uses the 1 million Thai Baht Grandma saved for him to buy her a prime burial plot. As he sings a lullaby in the Chaozhou dialect by her coffin, the earlier greed that fueled his actions is replaced by a genuine sense of love and gratitude.

The weight of tradition: son preference and women's sacrifice

The film also shines a light on the deeply embedded traditions that often pit women against these systems. Grandma's life is a series of sacrifices, first for her parents – who left everything to her brother – and then for her children. This theme continues with her daughter, Sew (played by Sarinrat "Jear" Thomas), who remarks, "Sons inherit money, daughters inherit cancer."

Sew's life is shaped by sacrifice. Despite giving up her education to help her mother sell porridge and switching shifts to take Grandma to exercise, her mother met her efforts with ambiguous affection. Sew's journey of self-manipulation is powerful, as she convinces herself that her moral duty is to give without expecting anything in return.

Grandma, in turn, treats her daughter-in-law with disdain, dismissing her as an "outsider" while carrying deep resentment toward her own brother for excluding her from the family. These generational cycles of exclusion and sacrifice are at the core of the film's emotional power.

When asked how Sew's sacrifices often go unnoticed, even by her own son, M, Boonnitipat explained, "One of M's deepest motivations is the guilt he feels for not being able to give back to his mother, the person who has always taken care of him."

Boonnitipat's personal experiences heavily influenced the writing of this film. While developing the script, he moved back in with his grandmother and, like M, began reconnecting with his childhood memories.

The film's nuanced portrayal of family ties and tradition reflects this sense of rediscovery.

In just 16 days, the movie grossed the 100 million yuan (US$14 million) mark at the Chinese mainland box office. Following its April release, it also became the highest-grossing Thai film of 2024 and a major hit across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.

Earlier this month, Thailand selected the film for the 2025 Oscars in the best international feature film category.

But at the film's premiere, Boonnitipat's real-life grandmother, the inspiration behind the story, barely flinched.

Her verdict? "Just a normal movie."

After all, the struggles shown on screen were just a small part of a much tougher life.