How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies – A Generational Dramedy
Written by Dr. Zoe Crombie
The cinema screen tends to be marketed as a site for the spectacular and fantastical, but the mundane can be equally, if not more, affecting, particularly when it comes to capturing the nuances of family dynamics. It’s been done in every genre and in each era of cinema, from The Kid to Meet the Fockers, but intergenerational conflict and the complex relationships of genetically tethered characters is always ripe for exploration onscreen.
Enter Thai filmmaker Pat Boonnitipat’s dramedy How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, a movie with family dynamics as compelling as the film’s eye-catching English title. Introducing us to Mengju, a 79-year-old woman diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer, and the gaggle of her adult children and grandchildren all vying for inheritance, the film plays darkly with expectations, individualism, and family secrets. The performances are genuine and deeply believable, with input from Boonnitipat’s own family (including his grandmother) lending the script a real sense of authenticity.
Reminiscent of The Farewell in plot, humour, and emotional impact, How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is an accurate portrait of the clashes and schisms of intergenerational family life. Be warned, though – the film went viral in Southeast Asia for the distraught reactions of crying patrons as they left the cinema, so make sure to bring a pack of tissues just in case.
See How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies between the 17th and 19th January.
