Mammoth - a movie to forget with a soundtrack to fall in love with

Last night I watched Mammoth. It's a movie about a young and successful couple with Gael Garcia-Bernal in the main role as a New York parent with a 7-year old girl.

Because both parents are so successful and engaged in their respective jobs, they have a Filipino nanny. That's where the cliches start already.

The husband then goes to Bangkok for a business trip, but finds time to relax on a beach. Another cliche. There, he mets an elephant, pot-smoking backpackers and a prostitute, with whom he falls in love with. More cliches!!!

In the meantime, the Filipino nanny misses her two boys back home, the older of which adorably tries to make money by himself helping his mum to come home earlier. I think this was the most moving part of the film where I had to grab a little tissue for myself too...

While the husband is away playing with the Thai prozzie, (whose mock Thai-English accent was NOT good...I could have done better sounding like a Thai prostitute) the wife tries hard to mend things at home, bond more with the daughter and with the nanny (to whom the daughter has a very close relationship).

That's more or less it. At the end, the guilt-ridden dad comes home from tempting Thailand and unites with his young family. The nanny is back in the Philippines in the meantime because her son was badly injured while trying to make money for his mum (guess who injured him....a pedophile American with a Hawaii t-shirt....more cliches)

The point of this movie was, I guess, to criticise our relentless focus on money and consumerism, from which poorer people have to suffer. A noble goal for a movie of course, but Lukas Moodysson (director of Togther, Lilya 4-ever and Fucking Amal) tries so hard to make us realise the inequalities of life, that I became utterly bored with it.

Every single scene is contrived. We know what is going to happen and at the end of the scene, there's some morality waiting. Plus, the movie was patronising, reducing Thailand to a tourist spot with prostitute ladyboys and the Philippines to one big slum with overseas nannies. At least we can see some Bangkok, which should please some homesick people (like me soon).

I ironed 12 shirts and two pants while watching this movie, I was so bored. Sometimes I didnt even look at the screen (well otherwise I would have burnt my fingers...)

There's one thing that really carried this movie though - the music! Here are two samples, one by Ladytron and one by Cat Power. Both songs added either speed or melancholy to the respective scenes - impressive!

ENJOY!