FILM REVIEW: Navi9ator2 min read
Reading Time: 2 minutes
A driver has depended on his trusty GPS machine for the longest time. But recently, the machine has been giving him horribly wrong directions. When humans and robots fight, our dependency on technology might prove irrevocable.
Director: Kanin Ramasoot
Year: 2011
Cast: Torphong Kul-On, Sansanee Wattananukul
Language: Thai
Runtime: 9min
Rating: G
Review by Jean Wong
Navi9ator (2011) is a humorous short film that gives us a glimpse of what a possible future might look like with our current dependency on technology. In an unexpected twist, the GPS machines in the short film are sentient, and this lends to the quirky aspect of the film. When the old model of the GPS, Navi-09, begins to give wrong directions to the owner, it is replaced with an advanced model — the Navi-9000.
The story revolves around the two GPS machines, one of which actually is the protagonist of Navi9ator — not the owner, as it would have initially let us believe. As Navi-09 is sentient, her facial expressions are displayed across her screen which lends for an adorable and amusing character. While Navi-9000 is also sentient, she does not have facial expressions but rather a disconcerting red circle — that resembles an eye — constantly displayed across her screen. Just via this simple characterisation, the villain and the hero of the film are set up.
Torphong Kul-On, who plays as the owner of the GPS machines, does a great job in acting serious at certain moments and comical when need be. Since there are some scenes in which the comedic nature of the film is brought out, his ability to swing back and forth between the two different acting styles suit the nature of the film well. Navi9ator is certainly a film that gives us food for thought about the role that technology might play in the future and the consequences of such.
