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The Gut-Wrenching Experience of Watching "How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies"

The movie How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is a 2024 Thai comedy-drama directed by Pat Boonnitipat. The story is centered around a young man who one day decides to move into his ailing grandmother’s home to help around and act as a caretaker for her, hoping to secure her fortune before she passes. However, he soon realizes that his goals are going to be more difficult to achieve as he attempts to navigate through his family’s dynamics and win his grandmother’s favor. The tension between the commitment to family and the internal resistance was so real, and it pulled me into the story, making me feel a sense of connection to the characters' struggles.

Watching How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies made me go through such a whirlwind of emotions, ranging from frustration to heartbreak. The story began with a family visiting their ancestors’ graves. As the movie unfolded, I found the main character, M, quite infuriating because of his behavior towards his grandmother, Sew. He did what he was tasked with lousily, sat down, and proceeded to ignore his family’s reprimands, making his grandmother Sew do the work for him. I couldn’t understand how someone could be so detached from the obvious care their grandmother needed. It was infuriating to watch him ignore his responsibility, and it reminded me of times when I’ve seen people disregard their own family members, letting selfishness take over.

When grandmother Sew fell and ended up in the hospital, I was furious with not only M for refusing to get involved but also with the rest of the family—M’s uncles in particular—for leaving the hospital early. It was then revealed that Sew had cancer. The family agreed to shield her from knowing about her diagnosis and to not mention anything about it, which I thought was a questionable choice—I personally am not in favor of their decision. The family thinks they are making the right decision by hiding the truth when all they are doing is showing denial and avoidance, and to me, it only seems selfish.

In a later scene, during the funeral of M’s grandfather, M soon found out that almost all that the grandfather had left was given to M's cousin, Mui, because she was his caretaker. This information was what motivated M to move into his grandmother Sew’s home and take care of her himself. However, he eventually proved himself to somehow be even more selfish by telling his grandmother about her diagnosis. It was an unexpected moment, and his bluntness made me want to scream. On one hand, it felt like a betrayal of his mother’s wishes, but on the other, it may have been one of the most honest things he did in the entire film. I was torn between pitying him and still being so frustrated by his apparent lack of compassion. I do believe that Sew had the right to know, however. I thought that M made the right decision by telling her about her diagnosis, but looking back after finishing the movie, he probably only told her for his convenience.

As the movie progressed, M seemed to become more willing to help his grandmother around. This took me by surprise, as I was not expecting such behavior from him, especially with the first impression he had on me. M’s slow transformation was filled with bittersweet moments. The small, tender moments, like selling congee together, felt fragile and precious. Still, there was a lingering question of whether his actions were driven by genuine care or ulterior motives that kept me in a state of suspicion about his character.

M’s uncles were constantly on my nerves. Soei specifically would always cause a headache for me every time he appeared in the movie. He did not have a job, would constantly get arrested, and would rely on his mother, Sew, to bail him out. The last time he visited, he was caught stealing his mother's savings, and he would often visit while drunk. Not to mention, he owes his mother one million baht, and that in itself is such a bizarre amount that it’s unforgivable in my perspective. As for Kiang, the other uncle, he would barely visit his mother, and even if he did, he would leave as early as he could because of his own family duties. Kiang in general seemed disinterested in his mother’s life, despite the fact that she was already in a very bad state. Only M’s mother and M himself were the only ones to show even the slightest bit of genuine concern for grandmother Sew, but even that makes me sad—to think that only one of the three children M’s grandmother had cared enough to sacrifice more than just time for her.

As the family became more and more distant, everyone started visiting grandmother Sew less. Sundays that would fill their home with laughter had become quiet. Despite how M was slowly starting to mature and realize the sacrifices his grandmother had made for their family, everyone was either too busy or was not in the best state for them to visit. I was both sad and frustrated with all of the family members for being so selfish. It had come to the point in the movie where M’s grandmother had become bald from her chemotherapy. She would appear so sad every time her hair would fall off, but M would always manage to cheer her up. It would sadden me every time Sew would mention things that imply her death, because it would constantly remind me of my own loved ones who have passed.

With the hospital bills getting higher and higher, Sew had to resort to asking her older brother for money. After a heartfelt scene where Sew and her older brother were singing together and hugging, it cut to the scene where she eventually had to explain why she needed the money. This caught me so off guard because throughout the movie so far, grandmother Sew has been nothing but selfless and has never asked for anything from her family. To me, it felt out of character for her to ask for money, but then again, she was running out of options, which makes the whole situation more sad than it should be. In the end, the elderly siblings only ended up arguing and bickering because of the older brother’s refusal to give Sew any money. This made me angry. I couldn’t understand how you could refuse to do the littlest favor for your younger sibling, who is terminally ill. My anger amplified after Sew mentioned how her older brother was the one who always got what he wanted. It all seemed so unfair for grandmother Sew that I was just sitting, confused and frustrated, while watching all of this unfold.

Another visit to the hospital revealed that grandmother Sew’s conditions were not improving in the slightest. M tried lying at first, telling her that she'd be okay. It was devastating and heartbreaking to watch this entire scene. Eventually, grandmother Sew caught on to the reactions of both her daughter and her grandson. She then reached out her hands to both of them to hold theirs. I was barely holding any tears in anymore as M was showing genuine concern for his grandmother in this scene. Everything was so expected, and yet the emotional impact of each scene is just as strong every time I look back on the movie.

That night, M woke up to his grandmother Sew whimpering in her bed. She was begging the gods, goddesses, and her family above to take her. It was a triggering scene for me to see, as I have heard the same things said by my great-grandfather, who had recently passed. No matter how many times I repeat this scene, whether physically or just in my head, it never fails to make me cry. I felt so bad for grandmother Sew.

Even with Sew’s conditions, her family was still bickering about whatever there was to bicker about. It was always such a headache to see them argue because it always felt like walls talking to each other. None of them listened to each other, and it was so frustrating to watch because I know what that kind of arguing is like. Eventually, after grandmother Sew’s house was sold, M invited her to live with them, and thankfully, she accepted. Kiang and Soei finally visited after a while. M helped them both realize the sacrifices grandmother Sew had made for them. Still, I was bitter at the fact that they only visited when her conditions worsened.

The climax of the movie—where M sings to his grandmother as she’s passing away—was utterly heartbreaking. The buildup of his emotional distance, finally breaking down into raw, genuine tears, left me sobbing. I couldn’t properly process whatever thoughts I was having during this scene, as all I could feel was his regret, his sorrow, and his guilt for all the times he was absent emotionally. It was a lot to take in, especially because M, someone who has barely shown such emotion the entire film, seemed so vulnerable in this moment. He was crying and singing with such a shaky voice, and that was what made me confirm that this movie had emotionally ruined me.

Just before grandmother Sew’s funeral, M received what seemed to be the phone call of a lifetime. It was then revealed that Sew had been constantly depositing money into a bank account that belonged to M. This was another one of those gut-wrenching scenes, as the film revealed this by showing a flashback of grandmother Sew promising M to deposit money in his bank account until she dies. It was such a devastating final blow that tied together the title and the entire theme of the movie. The accumulation of both her love and her money felt like a symbolic passing of not just material wealth but the wisdom and compassion that M had been so blind to for much of the film.

The last thing M did for his grandmother was buy him the big plot of land for her grave, something Sew asked for earlier in the movie. It was so sad for me to see how M was swinging from smiling and crying on the way to her grave. This movie has such an emotional chokehold on me as it made myself swing between humor, frustration, and gut-wrenching sadness. It did not hesitate to showcase the complexity of family dynamics and made me reflect on my own family relationships. I do not think that I will be able to get over this film for a while. M’s journey to emotional maturity was difficult to watch, but it served as a reminder that family, no matter how flawed, is worth cherishing while we still have time.