Directed by Puttipong Nakthong, 4 Kings gives us a glimpse of the rivalry that existed between the students of the four technical colleges in the town, the kinds of things they did, and how it impacted their lives in the long run. This is a story about friendship, about class discrimination, and also about the kind of gap that existed between the rich and the poor. So, let’s dive straight in and find out what happens in the film.
Spoiler Alert
Why did Amm despise her father?
At the beginning of 4 Kings, it is established that Amm despised her father, Billy, and she had a million reasons to do so. Billy was dropping Amm off at her school, and she didn’t want her friends to see him. Billy’s life was a mess; he drowned himself in grief, he was inebriated throughout day and night and he had no clue how to deal with the traumas of his past life. His alcoholism became an issue for everybody around him and remembered nothing apart from that one day that changed his life forever. Amm got out of the car in anger, and she told Billy that she would walk the rest of the way. But suddenly a group of boys arrived, and they started fighting with each other. Amm was caught in between, and she got gravely injured. The next morning, Billy was sitting with her at the dining table when a news channel showed how there were violent outbreaks between the two groups. Billy just impulsively said how naive the students were, and Amm snapped back at him, saying that he was no different when he was a student. That statement made Billy go back down memory lane and think about those carefree days when he lived life on the edge, and he had friends who could do anything for one another.
How did Billy and Oh become friends?
There were basically four rival technical colleges, and their students always used to engage in fights with one another. Da, Lupin, and Billy belonged to the IN college, and they were the kind of friends who could give their lives for one another. They attended concerts together, drank like a fish, fought whenever they bumped into rival groups, and spent most of their time in each other’s company. Probably, it was their age, but to any prudent man, it was quite evident that they would have to bear the consequences of their actions. I personally feel for the family members who always had to live in fear, as they didn’t know if their ward would even return once he went out. Everywhere, these guys fought, and the worst part was that there was no real issue or problem between them. They fought because that was the tradition, and they liked to keep that going even if their world fell apart. One time, Da, Lupin, and Billy were coming back from a concert together with a bunch of other students. They were surrounded by Chols and BUs, i.e., students from rival colleges. There was chaos and violence on the streets, and unfortunately, Billy and Oh, a student from Chol, got caught up with another student from BU. Billy and Oh, very surprisingly, bonded in the prison, and they decided that if they came face-to-face on the streets, they would not hurt each other. Actually, a man named Yad was there in prison, who, for no rhyme or reason, picked up fights with the technical college student. Be it a student of any technical college, Yad wanted to hurt them in the worst possible manner. Both Billy and Oh fought against Yad together, and they developed a mutual respect for each other.
What happened between Da and Au?
Au told Da that she was pregnant with his baby and that she was terrified of how she would tell her parents about it. People looked down upon boys like Da, who were from technical colleges, but that didn’t define his character. Yes, he had committed a lot of mistakes; he was responsible for what was happening in his life, but he was a good man. Da didn’t want Au to get an abortion, but the problem was that he knew that her father wouldn’t allow that to happen. One time, Da went to Au’s house to do some repair work, and he told her father that Au was pregnant. Au’s father got really angry, and he asked Da to leave their house immediately and never show his face again. Probably, Da was delusional, and he wasn’t practical enough because he actually thought that he could take care of his child. Da wanted to go to the last concert of the season, and he was in two minds because Au didn’t want him to go there. Da thought that it was a matter of only a few hours and he would be able to reconcile with Au after the concert. Da wanted to be with his friends, as he was feeling quite nostalgic since their college lives were coming to an end. As usual, the INs had a fight with the Chols, and after the concert was over, Da gave Au a call to check on her. He got to know that Au’s father was forcing her to get an abortion done, and he rushed to her house. Da begged Au’s father to let her give birth, and he promised him that he would take care of the baby. All three friends kneeled before Au’s parents and requested him to let her have the baby. Au’s father agreed to it because he saw the sincerity with which Da spoke, and there was honesty in his eyes that moved the old man. Da had no clue what the future had in store for him, and he believed that life would go on the way it had until then.
How did Da die?
Billy, Rhang, and Lupin were celebrating Lupin getting a black ballot in the annual lottery for military selection. They wanted to celebrate the moment, and they called Da and asked him to come over to the cafe. Oh, and Mod was also sitting in the same cafe, and when they saw Billy and Au coming inside, they got all charged up for a fight. At the end of 4 Kings, Billy decided that he didn’t want to have any conflict, so he went and told the boys of the rival college that he wanted to reconcile. Billy already had a good relationship with Oh, and he didn’t want any hassle with Mod either. They drank together, and it felt like things would get better from there. But it was not so. As soon as Mod saw that Billy was sitting alone, he decided to attack him. Oh stopped him, but Mod was in no mood to listen. To make matters worse, Yad also arrived with his boys at the scene, and everybody got ready for an epic battle. Yad was about to shoot Mod and Billy, but just then, Da arrived, and he pounced on Yad in order to save his friends. Yad shot Da, and the latter succumbed to his injuries eventually. Billy, Rhang, and Lupin saw their friends die in front of their own eyes, and that incident changed something inside them.
In 4 Kings‘ ending, Au gave birth to a baby girl, and it was apparent that Amm was Da’s daughter. Da’s mother kept Amm for the initial years, but when the former passed away, Billy took on the responsibility of her upbringing. Years later, Mod met Billy, and the former told him that he felt a lot of regret for whatever had happened in the past. Mod somewhere held himself responsible for whatever happened that day, and he came over to Billy’s house to drink and talk about the old days. Now, Mod had become a teacher, and he taught at the same college where Amm studied. When Amm saw her teacher drinking with Billy, she was shocked, and she asked him if Billy had forced her to drink with him. Mod told Amm that he knew Billy and others from before, and Amm stormed inside her room, feeling frustrated. Mod went inside, and he overheard Amm talking to her friend and telling him how she despised the kind of man Billy was and how she felt embarrassed because of him. Mod didn’t like the tone in which she spoke, and he told her how much sacrifice Billy made for her and how he never left her alone even when he had all the opportunity to do so. Amm told her that her biggest dilemma was whether Billy looked after her because he genuinely loved her or if he did so only because he felt he was responsible for Da’s death. Amm said that Billy was still stuck in the past, and he never tried to be there for her when she needed him. She said that he didn’t remember her birthdays and was unaware of what was happening in her life. Billy overheard the conversation, and he came inside and hugged his daughter. Billy loved Amm, and he realized that whatever she was saying was actually the truth. Billy had drowned himself in grief, and he had made his life miserable. He knew that he had to move on from the past because there were others around him who needed him. He hugged his daughter, and he told her how sorry he was for not giving her the attention she craved and not being there for her when she needed him the most.
