Bela Bajaria Chief Content Officer at Netflix | Official website
"Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and Hell," a Thai action film, has climbed to the No. 2 spot on Netflix’s Global Top 10 Films (Non-English) chart. The film is in the Top 10 in 32 countries, including Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Indonesia, Philippines, and Taiwan. It accumulated a total of 5 million hours viewed from September 23-29, 2024.
The movie's director Kome-Kongkiat Komesiri offers unconventional ideas through deeply layered characters. He emphasizes that each character was designed to be memorable and impactful. Darlie, played by Day Thaitanium, is described as a “Rat King” with vitiligo and unique characteristics like eating durian while slapping offenders with the peel. "Darlie is the king of this dump," says Kome.
Another complex character is Bank (Fluke-Teerapat Lohanan), who struggles with psychogenic stuttering but tries to present himself as a fierce thug. Kome describes him as "a character filled with contradictions."
Sumeth, portrayed by Ping Lumpraploeng (Bhubhing Bhangsa-ard), marks his first serious mob leader role. “I advised him not to be funny,” Kome notes about keeping humor out of this character.
The name Saisin holds multidimensional meaning; it translates into English as Sin. As Sin matures in the story, he learns happiness comes from self-reflection rather than money.
Kome chose Doo-Sanya Kunakorn for the role due to his looks and public perception shaped by his MC roles: “I aimed to make the audience question whether that was really Doo-Sanya.” Mind 4EVE shares her experience on set with Doo's transformation: “He delivered his performance very convincingly.”
The Ruamjai Housing Community setting was crafted realistically enough that even Doo-Sanya thought it was real: “They had constructed concrete building shells in a flooded swamp.” The production involved about 50 actors playing homeless people fully immersed in their roles.
Director Kongkiat aims to show that survival depends on perseverance despite life's challenges. Weir-Sukollawat Kanaros mentions how characters from different generations must unite against danger: “Survive or perish — it's up to you.”
"Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and Hell" is available exclusively on Netflix.
