With a film title so long, I’m sure the creators of How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies knew they had cracked the code for marketing their film. But then, when it became a rage on social media as the film that everybody cries to, they hit the jackpot a second time. How could they take advantage of Grandma like this? Jokes aside, this poignant film is as predictable as the road you’ve been taking every day to work, yet it leaves you so deeply engaged that you’ll never know what’s hitting you. The film is about a young man called M who has just learned of his grandma’s cancer. M, who hasn’t a care in the world, learns one day that being a caregiver is the easiest job in the world, and so he decides to ingratiate his way into his grandmother’s inheritance. However, he quickly learns that there’s more to caregiving than just treating it as a job to get property. The film reminds us of the power of bonding and love.
Spoiler Alert
Why Does M Leave His Grandma?
In the film, M, a high school dropout good for nothing, decides to follow in the footsteps of his cousin to become the primary caregiver of his grandmother so she will leave him her property when she passes away. M’s Amah has cancer, and he starts to look after her and even moves into her house. M’s plan is simple: look after Grandma, become her favorite, get the property, and live in peace for the rest of his life. At first, it’s quite a difficult task because he doesn’t know much about his grandma and her requirements. She’s so particular about what she eats, how she sleeps, and specifically doing things by herself, but soon enough, M gets a hang of it. Soon, M starts taking her to chemotherapy, and just like that, he figures out he’s got to monopolize her.
What I mean by this is that M’s grandma has so many people who want something from her. She’s got two sons and a daughter, and if M had to rank himself on the list of people his grandma cares for, he’d put himself last. When M’s uncle Kiang sets up a fancy spot in his house for his grandma to stay, M convinces her that she shouldn’t move in with him because she’s most comfortable in her own house. When the same uncle takes them to the temple, M notices that his family writes down selfish wishes, whereas M himself writes that he hopes his grandma wins the lottery. Technically, this is a selfish wish too, but more importantly, he shows his grandma that his uncle doesn’t really care for her, but his grandma tells him that Kiang has his own family. M’s mother’s a beloved daughter, but in the way that daughters can be. The old woman loves her daughter, but there isn’t much she can really give her. She is important to her, but according to M, his mom’s 3rd on the list, and after M’s been living with Amah, he’s now taken her spot.
Then there’s Soei, her second son, who’s in serious debt because of his gambling addiction. Soei steals 200K baht from Amah to pay off his loan. I suppose M’s like a less annoying version of his uncle, but saying that, living with his grandma, he learns the value of earning money and how easily it can be lost. M’s been helping his grandma sell congee at 4 AM, and this is the money she’d been saving that Soei stole. But M’s grandma doesn’t even yell at her son; in fact, she decides to leave him the property so he can get rid of his debt and look after himself. This is after the family has learned that the chemotherapy hasn’t worked and Amah won’t be recovering. So M is furious. He’s been working so hard so that his grandmother would leave him her property, and all for what? Nothing at all? At the hospital, M then asks her why she said she would look after the caregiver. M says he’s looked after her well, so why isn’t she letting him be number one for once?
Who Is Amah’s Number One?
On a superficial level, it seems like M is asking his grandma why he can’t be her number one, which is partially true, but he’s also asking why he can never be number one in anything he does. I suppose M’s always been considered a dud, and I guess he was finally proud of something he’d done, even if it initially started off on a bad foot. M feels like he’s let her down, and in turn himself. So, maybe he doesn’t really deserve that property anyway? But at that moment, all he can think about is leaving it all behind because he got nothing in return. M leaves his grandmother for some time and goes back to doing whatever he does while gaming on his phone. But then, when he learns that his uncle’s putting his grandmother in a nursing home, he realizes what a huge mistake he’s made leaving her all alone and brings her to his home—well, his mom’s home.
A big part of the film is how lonely one gets as an adult. Amah really appreciated when M was with her because she finally had someone to talk to on a regular basis, someone to nag or someone to just be around. Amah would spend Sundays waiting by her door to see all her 3 children and their families come by, but she told M that the days she hated most were the ones after festivals because even though she would have a loaded fridge, she’d have to finish all that food by herself. M stays by his grandma’s side as she gets sicker, right until the end when he sings her a lullaby. When Amah got really sick, she wished her parents or grandparents would take her away; all she wished for was death, though we know she was afraid of it just weeks before. This really speaks to how lonely the pain makes you, but it’s M who is able to calm her down.
What Does the Pomegranate Symbolize?
When Amah dies, M learns that there’s a bank account that she’d opened in his name all the way back when he was a child. At the time, M had said he wanted millions, so he asked her to add money to the account right until she died. Amah did exactly that, but M didn’t want the money for selfish reasons; he wanted millions to buy his grandma a new house because the one she was living in was so old. Now, M uses the same money to pay for his grandma’s burial spot and gives her the farewell she deserves. M never knew his grandmother took his words so seriously. In fact, he never thought she cared that he helped her or was around, but I think in those last moments he realized how much they meant to each other. So, what does the pomegranate signify? When Amah was alive, she never let anybody touch the pomegranate tree in front of her house. When the fruit was perfectly ripe to pluck out, she cut it out and gave it to M. Apparently, M had said when he was young that if the tree would fruit, she would have to keep the fruit for him alone. Amah kept her promise, but I think the timing of this fruit being perfect is impeccable. It signifies the bond between grandma and grandson having ripened too. If M hadn’t matured by living with his grandma, he’d have still remained a dud, but now he’s learned patience and care and even how to make congee, so maybe he’ll be just fine. Ironically, Amah’s bed went right next to M’s desk, showcasing just how his life changes within a few months of him learning the power of love. At the funeral, M wears the shirt his grandmother bought him, yet another memory they’ve forged together, and something that’ll stick with him for life.
In the film’s ending, M shows his grandma the way to her new home and tells her that she is his number one. I suppose for a boy of his age to actually care about anything at all is a huge deal. A year later, when he’s supposed to scatter flowers for her peaceful pacing, he doesn’t do it properly, because she’d warned him she’d haunt him if he didn’t. M’s grandma’s always going to be with him because she made him who he is, so yeah, maybe she did keep that promise.
