I know - there are lots of movies that have unedited long takes of hallways and trees and people looking out of a window aimlessly. I know. But there's something about the (unintentional/coincidental) symmetry between the films of Chantal Akerman & Apichatpong Weerasethakul that just sticks out to me more than anyone else (perhaps this has to do with how much I've watched their movies and the subconscious impression they may have left on my brain).
The agoraphobia, the lack of dialogue, minimal to no music, and just overall ambiance in their respective works are very similar to me (see below).
Below are some examples that I feel best represent the visual similarities between the two filmmakers. I realize using moving imagery instead of stills is almost redundant in this case as there isn't a lot of "action" or movement in the films of either director, but I used videos & gifs to show how long each scene goes without an edit (it's easy to capture moments between two films within one to two second clips but it's another case when the scenes are 5 to 6 times longer).
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a Thai film set in the jungle which makes it a monkey movie by default (Monkeys & Thai jungles kind of go hand-in-hand). There are monkey's all over this film...
Monkeys even serve as the default soundtrack to this movie. Uncle Boonmee doesn’t have a traditional score or a soundtrack using standard instrumentation. The ambient jungle noises (which feature lots of monkey sounds) serve as the default background music. Uncle Boonmee also has a coincidental connection to quite a few other monkey-based movies and monkey-based urban legends.
Take the most iconic/memorable shot from the movie. Right away, what are we reminded of when we look at this side/profile shot of a humanoid/monkey looking directly in to the camera?
Bigfoot…
Uncle Boonmee/Big Foot
Now…things don’t have to be identical in order to be a reference. I know Bigfoot doesn’t have red eyes and he was walking through a forest rather than a jungle, but unless you’re a very nitpicky person I think you can see the similarities.
But it doesn’t stop there. Take some more notable images from Uncle Boonmee like this one…
Uncle Boonmee/Princess Mononoke
To me, this is an obvious subconscious nod to Princess Mononoke. I mean – from the way the monkeys are gathered around each other to the obvious red eyes, there’s no way in my mind that director Apichatpong Weerasethakul wasn’t aware of this cartoon. The similarities are too strong.
Uncle Boonmee also has some strong connections to another monkey-heavy film in the form of Jumanji. Here we see characters from both films transitioning to monkeys...
Uncle Boonmee/Jumanji
And this isn’t the first time Apichatpong referenced Jumanji (in reality I’m pretty sure he didn’t really reference Juamnji but in my mind I like to think he did). In his 2005 film Tropical Malady (another Thai film set mostly in a jungle) we witness one of the main characters transition in to an animal...
Tropical Malady/Jumani
And still – it doesn’t stop there. Uncle Boonmee has some visual similarities to Harry & The Hendersons…
Uncle Boonmee/Harry & The Hendersons
As well as the art of Max Ernst…
Uncle Boonmee/Max Ernst
So even though Uncle Boonmee is the epitome of what a modern art house film is (slow, minimal dialogue, weird, surreal, strange, mildly pretentious, etc), it still branches off and connects to more popular/accessible movies.
It is my personal opinion that Uncle Boonmee is one of the five best movies of the decade so far, but that doesn’t mean I blindly recommend it to any & everyone. Those key words I just used do very much describe this movie (slow, minimal dialogue, surreal, strange, mildly pretentious, etc). But if you have an open mind I do recommend checking it out (after having a cup of coffee and a strong attention span). And perhaps if you think of the subconscious influences & references to more popular films like Juamnji, Max Ernst & Harry & Hendersons, perhaps it will help you enjoy Uncle Boonmee a little more.
King Kong
Now…I picked this movie because I have a strong personal connection to it. I admit that when Kevin first asked me to be on this show I just blindly accepted without having a movie in mind. I just love these shows so much I wanted to be a part of it. But after a day of thinking it over, I realized this was the movie to cover. I don’t really have much of an opinion or attachment to stuff like King Kong or Planet Of The Apes outside of the subconscious racial undertones that both movies have.
If I could just divert for a second and be the black guy to talk about racial stuff for a minute, it doesn’t take too much deep thought to perceive that both movies could be seen as alternative theories about white people’s fear of Black people. The N-word isn’t the only racial slur that people have used to describe Black people over time. Monkey has certainly been used as coded language to describe black people. And when you take a movie like Planet Of The Apes which deals with a group of monkeys taking over the world, or the way black people are depicted in King Kong – it really isn’t too far-fetched to see the possible racist undertones. But that’s a whole other conversation that we don’t need to get in to right now. Sorry if I ruined King Kong or Planet Of The Apes for everyone in the audience right now. I’m certainly not implying that if you like these movies you’re a racist or anything like that. I could totally be clutching at straws with my theories on these films.
Back to the movie at hand…
Uncle Boonmee is about more than just monkeys. A big subplot of this movie deals with the main character dying from Kidney disease which is something both my father & I struggled with (we both had kidney transplants). I mention my father because 5 days before I was supposed to present at the January show about rip-off cinema he passed away from an unexpected heart attack (sorry for bringing the mood down). After I called my family & close friends, Kevin was the next person I called. Obviously out of courtesy I had to call him to let him know that I wouldn’t be able to do the show but it hit me how powerful it is that Kevin was one of the first people I called regarding my father’s passing. So Kevin Geek’s Out will probably always make me think of my dad in some form.
On a lighter note, I will say that my father wanted to come to the January show and he was super excited to see me present (he liked movies quite a bit). So I’d like to dedicate this presentation to my dad. Without him I probably wouldn’t have the obsessive love for cinema that I have today.
I don’t want to leave things on a completely down note so I end this presentation with a hilarious monkey-themed scene that got cut from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back…
At this point I'm convinced you could take every feature film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and edit together one long coherent narrative with very little effort (I guess we're just gonna make this a theme this year with my coverage of the NYFF). While this is a review of Cemetery Of Splendour, it also reads like a sequel to The Cinema Of Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Sickness has been a common theme in Weerasthakul's work as of late. His 2010 feature (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) dealt with kidney disease, and the feature before that (Syndromes & A Century) took place inside of a hospital. Ghosts and/or supernatural occurrences have also been a staple within his work. Boonmee is visited by the spirits of his dead relatives throughout the course of Uncle Boonmee, while one of the main characters in Tropical Malady transforms into an animal by the end of the movie (a similar transformation also happens in Uncle Boonmee). Cemetery Of Splendour is no different when it comes to sickness, spirituality & unexplained phenomenas. In the film we're witness to a mysterious/unexplained sleep epidemic that's disrupting a Thai village (just imagine an intense, more hallucinatory form of narcolepsy). We also watch the relationship between a hospital volunteer ("Jen") and a patient ("Itt") that teeters the line between motherly & flirty.
A possible callback?: Cemetery Of Splendor / Tropical Malady (I don't remember seeing the scene on the left in the screening I saw, but it's still some possibly deleted scene from Cemetery Of Splendour that's identical, same actor and all, to a scene in Tropical Malady)
Uncle Boonmee / Cemetery Of Splendor
The importance of Buddah/"The Shirine" in the films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul
top: Tropical Malady / Syndromes & A Century
Bottom: Uncle Boonmee / Cemetery Of Splendor
The hospital scenes in Cemetery Of Splendour look like interchangeable moments from both Syndromes & Uncle Boonmee. The characters in the aforementioned films could also very well be extras walking around in the background of Cemetery Of Splendour. A lot of the same actors are used (similarly) in every one of these movies. Co-star Banlop Lamnoi plays a soldier in both Tropical Malady & Cemetery Of Splendour. Lead actress Jenjira Pongpas plays the same caregiving aunt-like character in Blissfully Yours, Uncle Boonmee & Cemetery Of Splendour.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul's latest is definitely more enjoyable if you're familiar with his previous work (his last few features are easy to attain. Some are currently streaming between Amazon & Netflix, while a few shorts are up on YouTube). I'm not saying you can't enjoy this if you're a novice, but at the same time, watching Cemetery Of Splendour without knowledge of the films that came before it is kind of like being introduced to the cinema of David Lynch or Claire Denis by watching Inland Empire or Bastards, respectively.
Weerasethakul continues down the hallucinatory path that Carlos Reygadas made a dent in a few years back with Post Tenebras Lux (a path that was previously chipped away at by the likes of Tarkovsky, Sokurov & post-Thin Red Line Malick).
If there's ever been a case to draw a comparison between Reygadas & Weerasethakul - this is it (after the release of Post Tenebrasux Lux I found quite a few critics name-dropping Weerasethakul in their write-ups). Like PTL, reality, daydreams & hallucinations start to mesh in to one beautiful droning blob in Cemetery Of Splendour.
I'd be remiss to leave out how much I was reminded of Only God Forgives at certain points. Apichatpong's slow pace and use of neon-lighting (something new for him) was very similar to Refn's lens.
Cemetery Of Splendour
Only God Forgives
Cemetery Of Splendour
I did struggle with some aspects of this film. On one hand it's really cool that all of his movies weave together so seamlessly. But at the same time, it's difficult to decipher certain scenes in Cemetery Of Splendour from certain scenes in Uncle Boonmee or Syndromes & A Century. Apichatpong Weerasethakul is obviously not the first director to make a slight variation of the same basic plot. Take David Lynch for example - Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive & Inland Empire are all pretty much the same basic plot (split personality disorder, alternate universes colliding in to one another, etc). But the execution from one film to the next is pretty different. That's not really the case here with Apichatpong Weerasethakul's latest. While watching Cemetery Of Splendour I found myself going: "isn't this a scene from one of his older movies? I feel like I've seen this before".
But at the end of the day I have the desire to watch this again so that equates some form of success in my book.
This is yet another film that belongs in the "sketchbook cinema" genre that I coined back in 2012 (To The Wonder, Tree Of Life, Uncle Boonmee, Post Tenebras Lux, and, most recently, Upstream Color). This isn't a criticism in any way but Apichatpong's latest feels like a beautiful, yet somewhat unfinished idea that he just had to get it out (like a detailed sketch you might find in an artist's well-kept sketchbook). It's like a gumbo pot of ideas ranging from spirituality to socio-political awareness. Prior to the NYFF screening, Apichatpong, who couldn't be there in person, sent along a rather cryptic message for the audience that would lead one to believe he was unhappy with the current state of Thailand. Throughout the course of the film he hints at everything from unwanted property development & issues concerning skin complexion, to hospitals in small villages not having enough equipment to take care of the sick.
Because Cemetery Of Splendour also deals with the idea of slumber, Apichatpong Weerasethakul leaves plenty of room for the audience to zone out from time to time. There were a few moments when I totally stopped paying attention and just zoned out to the hypnotic imagery in front of me (I also thought it would be interesting to write the first draft of this review dead tired on the train just after watching the film). One Enter The Void-esque scene in particular, where an overhead shot of an escalator overlaps with a neon-lit hospital room, stood out the most to me. Cemetery Of Splendour relies more on static shots & and its hypnotic tone than it does dialogue or a straightforward plot. That may sound boring to some of you (which is perfectly understandable) but those of you who like art-house cinema, moments of mind-numbing silence & experimental feature filmmaking will more than likely enjoy this.
Film is like a drug. It is a shelter when you cannot deal with reality - Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Along with directors like Steve Mcqueen, Nicolas Refn and Fatih Akin - Apichatpong Weerasethakul is truly one of the "Leaders Of The New School". Like Karim Ainouz ('I Travel Because I Have To...') or John Carluccio ('Battle Sounds'), he's another filmmaker who made the transition from studying architecture (my major in college) to film, yet there's no direct trace of that in his work (unless you count the shots of all the landscapes in his work, but even that's kinda reaching). So naturally as an architecture graduate with a love for cinema this one is a bit personal and close to my heart (in fact my love for film trumps my interest in architecture & design to the point where it isn't even funny). Weerasethakul's work, which pretty much all takes place in Thailand, is rooted in things like nature, spiritualism, sexuality, subtle doses of religion, love, romance and surrealism. He's also clearly all about challenging the idea of traditional storytelling. Of all the young-ish/breakout directors of the last 6 years or so, he's one of the few who cant really be compared to anyone else. Sure there's hints of Tarkovsky or a little Wong Kar Wai in his work (if you really wanna reach) but at the end of the day he's one of the few original filmmakers of his era.
NATURE:
Apichatpong Weerasethakul always makes it a point to show the audience the beauty of Thailand and just nature in general. Watching one of his films on the big screen is a MUST (especially his more recent work like Uncle Boonme & Syndromes). Each frame makes you feel like you're actually in the jungle or among wild animals. And if there was ever one color to be associated with his work it would have to be green (the tall grass, the leaves and other various plant life). The actors in his films blend in to the natural surroundings to the point where they look they're just another lifeform growing in the jungle...
'Tropical Malady'
'Tropical Malady'
'Blissfully Yours'
'Syndromes & A Century'
'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives'
'Uncle Boonmee'
Cemetery Of Splendour
Cemetery Of Splendour
Mysterious Object At Noon
TRANSFORMATION & PARALLEL UNIVERSES:
In just about any Weerasethakul film you'll see at least one of the main characters transforming in one way or another. Whether it be the transformation of a man in to a transgendered woman ('The Adventures Of Iron Pussy') to the constant transformation of humans into animals or animal-like figures in 'Tropical Malady' (one of the main characters transforms into a tiger at the end of the film) and 'Uncle Boonmee' (one of the characters in the film turns into a giant monkey). And in a similar vein Weerasethakul constantly plays with the theme of parallel universes. In 'Syndromes And A Century' we see the exact same scenarios acted out twice with the same actors in the same settings, each with its own slight twist. At the end of 'Uncle Boonmee...' we see our main characters essentially step outside of themselves and go in to another universe. Or in the same film we watch as the princess look at her reflection in the water only to see a more "attractive" image of herself...
'Uncle Boonmee...'
'Uncle Boonmee...'
'Uncle Boonmee...'
'Syndromes & A Century'
Iron Pussy
'Tropical Malady'
INFLUENCES & VISUAL SIMILARITIES
Archangel/Tropical Malady
Post Tenebras Lux/Uncle Boonmee
Jumanji/Tropical Malady
Uncle Boonmee/The Grey
Uncle Boonmee/Pan's Labrynth
Uncle Boonmee/Jauja
Princess Mononoke/Uncle Boonmee
Suspiria/Cemetery Of Splendour
Suspiria/Uncle Boonmee
Uncle Boonmee/The Nightmare
Safe/Uncle Boonmee
Uncle Boonmee/Jauja
A Brighter Summer Day/Uncle Boonmee
Uncle Boonmee/Attack The Block
THE HUMAN BODY:
The actors in Weerasethakul's films are often shirtless or almost completely naked. I'm sure some of this has to do with the fact that most of his films take place in Thailand where I hear its quite hot, but still...he takes advantage of this by focusing his camera on the crevices of the bodies that don't always get shown in most films (the sweat, the different shades of skin, etc)...
'Blissfully Yours'
'Mobile Men'
'Mobile Men'
'Uncle Boonmee...'
'Tropical Malady'
SPIRITUALISM & RELIGION:
Another one of Weerasethakul's talents is showing Buddhism and spirituality without coming off preachy or shoving it down the audiences throats. Its clear that he's a spiritual person and believes in a higher power but at the same time you don't feel like you're watching a religious film. He cleverly places monks as key figures (or even just in the background), ghosts and/or spirits as well as religious art all through out his work...
Tropical Malady
'Tropical Malady'
'Syndromes...'
'Syndromes...'
'Uncle Boonmee...'
'Uncle Boonmee...'
Cemetery Of Splendour
ROMANCE & SEXUALITY:
Whether its man & woman (Syndromes & A Century), man & man (Tropical Malady) or human & fish (Uncle Boonmee), Apichatpong Weerasethakul makes it a point to show all kinds of romantic relationships or attractions with the same care and objectivity. As an openly gay director, he doesn't show hetero relationships any differently than homosexual relationships (similar to other modern, openly directors like Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes). He explores innocence and the fear of telling someone you love them (Syndromes) or the curiosity and slow attraction that starts to build between two people who don't really know each other...
'Syndromes...'
'Blissfully Yours'
'Tropical Malady'
SLUMBER...
The characters in Apichatpong's films often find themselves nodding off (sometimes involuntary like in the case of Cemetery Of Splendour) or dreaming in an effort to connect with some spiritual power (Tropical Malady) or a deceased relative (Uncle Boonmee). Plus, his films just have a sleepy/meditative quality...
