Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Favorite quote from Philip Cheah

http://asiapacificfilms.tv/host-philip-cheah-blog-my-travels-in-the-post-colonial-film-festival-world/

"In my 20 years of being in film festivals, I know that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to know what audiences will like or not understand. It’s an illusion to think that audiences can be predicted. This illusion is a legacy of colonialism and imperialism that believes that there are a chosen few who understand the masses more than them, and knows what is good for them.

One of the chief virtues of film selection is honesty and the spirit of sharing. If you honestly like and believe in a film, no matter how strange or foreign it may look, then the only reasonable response is a desire to share this experience with your audience."

Monday, December 26, 2011

Favorite Thai Songs 7: MY HUSBAND IS THE WIFE OF SOMEONE ELSE'S HUSBAND (2011) -- Jintara Poonlarp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_rQvYponQQ


คำร้อง-ทำนอง บอย เขมราฐ

*ผัวๆๆๆๆ มีผัวผิด ล่ะคิดจนวันตาย ผัวเอย ผัวข้อยเปลี่ยนไป (ซ้ำ) ผัวนอกใจ ล่ะแอบไปมีผัว....

1.ก่อนแต่งล่ะเพิ่นดู แม๊นแมน..เด๊ะ เป็นแฟนเมื่อแรกก็ว่า แมนดีเล่นกล้ามหนวดเครา เข้มขรึม..นะ สาวตรึม ล่ะตอมกันปานแมงหวี่ใครๆเขารุมอิจฉา(ซ้ำ) ได้เข้าวิวาห์ หนุ่มหน้าตาดีนึกว่าสามีเป็นชาย(ซ้ำ) แต่ที่ไหนได้.. เป็นเก้งกวางชะนี.....

2.จับได้ล่ะคาหนัง คาเขา..ช๊ะ หม้อข้าวล่ะก็ยังบ่ ทันเปื้อนหนวดเหนิดขนหน้าแข้ง ก็โกน..สั้น คบหากะเทย ข้างบ้านเป็นเพื่อนแต่ก่อนมิเคยเข้าครัว(ซ้ำ) นี่นั่งตำถั่ว จนบ้านสะเทือนถ้าบ่ได้เห็นกับตา(ซ้ำ) บ่เซื่อดอกค่ะ.. ว่าผัวหนูสิเป็นเมียผัวเพื่อน..

3.ผัวข้อยล่ะเป็นเมียผัวเขา..ช๊ะ ผัวเขาล่ะก็เป็นผัวๆข้อยผัวข้อยล่ะก็เป็นเมียผัวเขา.. ช๊ะ ผัวเขาละก็เป็นผัวๆข้อยทั้งอายล่ะทั้งอยากจะหนี(ซ้ำ) ที่คุณสามี ทำตัวด่างพร้อยกอดลูกทั้งน้ำตาไหล(ซ้ำ) สิเอาผัวใหม่ ล่ะก็จะกลัวซ้ำรอย..

Friday, December 23, 2011

AL QAEDA CONFIDENTIAL (2011, Paul Jenkins + Georges Malbrunot, documentary, A++++++++++)

http://vimeo.com/30945526

THE OLD HERMIT AND THE DREAMY DOG (2011, Somporn Kongrod, A+++++)

One of my most favorite animations I saw this year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn_bpBSXxoE

THAT NAWENG'S TALE (2011, Arnon Saiyotha, A+++++++++++++++)

You can watch the film from the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1KMZlu-6Ms&feature=share

KRASUESAO WAS SHOWN WHILE I WAS BORN

I just visited the exhibition PROXY (2011, Proxy, curated by Josef Ng, A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++) at WTF Gallery and learned from this exhibition that the film which was shown in Thailand around the time I was born (February 1973) is the horror film KRASUESAO (1973, S. Naowarach). I think it is very appropriate that this film was shown while I was born.
http://wtfbangkok.com/index.php/2011/11/19/proxy/

Talking about my birthday, I also noticed that Philipp Rösler, the economy minister of Germany, was born in Vietnam in February 24, 1973, or just two days before me. His life seems like a total success, while mine is not. Hahaha.











"PROFESSIONAL AT BEING HUMAN BEINGS"

Apichatpong Weerasethakul talks about his exhibition PRIMITIVE in the link below:
http://bk.asia-city.com/events/article/interview-apichatpong-weerasethakul

I like this sentence very much "I always select actors that have a lot of experience that I don’t have. People say, they are not professional. But for me they are very professional, professional at being human beings. They’ve gone through so much."

Sunday, December 18, 2011

THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE (2009, Claudio Centimeri, A+/A)

This black comedy is suitable for those who like ABNORMAL FAMILY (1984, Masayuki Suo) and SITCOM (1998, François Ozon).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkLldjo1LBk

LOVERS AND ENEMIES (2010, Dilmana Yordanova + Mihaela Kavdanska, Romania, A+++++++++++++++)

http://vimeo.com/24771309

This is one of my most favorite films of the year.

IN TRANSIT (2008, Joanne Richardson, Romania, A+)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI4O9FbswGo

SKHIZEIN (2008, Jérémy Clapin, animation, A+)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxoO3F6N81U

This animation about a mental problem should be screened together with I LOVE SYNDROME (2011, Ninart Boonpothong).

GHOST ORB (2011, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, exhibition)







PLANKING (2011, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, A+++++++++++++++)































JELE-BEAUTIE (2011, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, A+++++)



9 MONTHS SELF-PORTRAIT (2007, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, A+)







GHOST ORB (2007, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, A+)



S.O.S. THAILAND

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npUU2AQwlDY

Friday, December 16, 2011

The poem THE RED CARNATION (1871) by Louise Michel

"If were to go to the black cemetery
Brothers, throw on your sister,
As a final hope,
Some red 'carnations' in bloom.
In the final days of Empire,
When the people were awakening,
It was your smile red carnation
which told us that all was being reborn.
Today, go blossom in the shadow of the black and sad prisons.
Go, bloom near the somber captive,
And tell him/her truly that we love him/her.
Tell that through fleeting time
Everything belongs to the future
That the livid-browed conqueror
can die more surely than the conquered."





Thursday, December 15, 2011

Favorite quote from Louise-Michel (1830-1905)

"“Since it seems that every heart that beats for freedom has no right to anything but a little slug of lead, I demand my share. If you let me live, I shall never cease to cry for vengeance.”"





Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Favorite quote from Dave Kehr

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-09-14/film/you-cannot-send-shit-through-the-internet-and-other-life-lessons-from-critic-dave-kehr/2/

" . I have a general suspicion of big theme movies—when you look at big life-affirming epics from [William] Wyler or [George] Stevens or something, every individual shot is just so dead that it contradicts whatever humanist message they're trying to put across, whereas someone who seems to be as nihilistic asGeorge Romero is just so alive imaginatively on the level of shots and how he's arranging things, and that seems to me a much more life-affirming experience than so many of these big lumbering humanistic classics."


The photo comes from DIARY OF THE DEAD (2007, George A. Romero). You can read about George A. Romero in Thai from the book FILMVIRUS 5: LOW BUDGET FILMS IN COMBAT (2007).






Saturday, December 03, 2011

LEASTWAYS/MODERATE WAYS/EXTREME WAYS (2011, Tritos Termarbsri, 90 min, A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++)

อย่างน้อย/อย่างกลาง/อย่างมาก (ไตรทศ เติมอาบศรี)

(I can't remember any details in the film now. I apologize if I remember anything wrongly.)

This is one of my most favorite films I saw this year, and is definitely one of my most favorite Thai films of all time.

What I like very much in this film includes:

1.It made me cry a lot at the end of the film. It seems as if the pain of the protagonist has been transferred to me. I'm very surprised that the film can make me feel as hurtful as this, because I don't share the same experience with the protagonist of the film. I don't have a dead friend whom I'm always think about. But the film is successful in making me fully sympathize with the protagonist and his pain.

2.I'm not sure why the film can have that powerful effect on me, but I'm sure this film doesn't follow the formula of tear-jearking films. This film doesn't tell a straightforward story. It doesn't tell "one" story of a man who misses his dead friend very much, but it tells seven stories, each of which varies a lot in tones, styles or genres. So I like it very much that the film can make me cry uncontrollably by telling stories in a way that is radically different from most tear-jerking films.

3.I like the structure of the film very much. It consists of seven stories, each of them has a plot or subplot concerning a dead friend. The structure of the film is one of the things that makes the film unique.

The structure of the film, which consists of tangentially-connected stories, may be comparable to such films as DON'T WARM EGGS IN MICROWAVE OR ELSE THEY WILL EXPLODE! (2005, Tossapol Boonsinsukh), LIFE IS SHORT 2 (2006, Tossapol Boonsinsukh), 71 FRAGMENTS OF A CHRONOLOGY OF CHANCE (1994,Michael Haneke), or DISAPPEAR (2010, Tani Thitiprawat), because these films also tell barely-connected stories and can also give us some kinds of emotional climax. However, I think LEASTWAYS/MODERATE WAYS/EXTREME WAYS is interesting because the mini-stories in this film vary a lot in tones, styles, or genres, while the mini-stories in other films don't vary a lot in tones.

In a way, I think LEASTWAYS/MODERATE WAYS/EXTREME WAYS is as successful as VIDEO 50 (1978, Robert Wilson), because VIDEO 50 also consists of barely-connected segments which vary a lot in tones, styles or genres, and can give us some emotional climax. I consider VIDEO 50 one of my most favorite films of all time, and I think it is extremely hard for any filmmakers to make a film with this kind of structure and can also affect the audience tremendously. There are very few filmmakers who can pull off this kind of thing. Robert Wilson can do it. And now Tritos Termarbsri proves that he can do it, too.

What about the comparison with Alexander Kluge, the master of this kind of cinema? I think Tritos' film is radically different from Kluge's films, because Kluge's films affect the brain, while Tritos' film makes me cry. However, the films of Kluge, Robert Wilson, and Tritos may affect my subconscious, because all of them have a profound effect on me in an unexplainable way.


4.Each of the seven stories is very interesting in itself, so when they are all combined together in this film, it results in one of my most favorite films of the year.

The seven stories include:

4.1 LEASTWAYS อย่างน้อย (14 min)
It is about two male friends who talk about some funny things in a bookshop. At first it looks like a low-budget comedy focusing on a dialogue, but the film changes its genre in the second half, when one of the friends reveals that a ghost of his friend is always around him. I like the low-budget look and the playful tone of this segment very much. The abrupt change of genre reminds me of such films as FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1995, Robert Rodriguez).

4.2 MODERATE WAYS อย่างกลาง
This segment is about an ex-boyfriend and an ex-girlfriend who meets each other in a park. After they talk for a while, they find out that the failure of their past relationship is caused by white lies. If only they hadn't lied to each other with good intentions, their relationship wouldn't have failed. I like it very much that the film doesn't support white lies.

This segment's tone is a little bit like BEFORE SUNSET (2004, Richard Linklater). It has a natural feeling and features some long dialogues. I like many scenes in this segment, especially the scenes in which the hero and the heroine talk with each other in a small boat under a bridge, and the scene in which they talk on a park bench near a pond. The acting in both scenes are excellent. I also like the reflection of water in the park bench scene very much. I think the park bench scene is one of my most favorite scenes in Thai films this year because of these reasons: it is shot very beautifully but the beauty is not overemphasized; it features great acting and lets the actors continue their performances for a long time without interruptions; it doesn't try to arouse the audience too much; and it is very human.

There's a cute thing I like very much in the boat-under-a-bridge scene. It's the moment in which the heroine wants to sing, so the hero announces something like, "Let the music play!", and then both the audience and the characters hear the music, which originates from an ambiguous space. The music does not come from anywhere "in the park", but the characters can hear it and control it. That moment makes me feel as if the film is saying to the audience, "You are watching a film, and the characters know that they are in a film." And this moment seems to blur the line between diegetic sound and non-diegetic sound or something like that.

The main characters from LEASTWAYS become supporting characters in MODERATE WAYS.

4.3 DINING TABLE โต๊ะอาหาร
The tone of this segment is a little bit like LEASTWAYS. It features some long dialogues between friends. The dialogue is not serious and reminds me a little bit of some cute dialogues in PULP FICTION. After the first half, the segment seems to change its genre, when the characters begin to wonder if they are in a dream, whose dream they are in, or if any of them is a ghost or not. The segment is partly inspired by INCEPTION, and it adapts the idea from INCEPTION in a very lovely way.

I also like the look of the ghosts in this segment very much. These ghosts do not look like "frightening ghosts in standard horror films", but they look half-creepy, half-funnily-low-tech. These ghosts remind me of the ghosts in CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (1974, Jacques Rivette) and THE BODY BENEATH (1970, Andy Milligan).

4.4 INTERVIEW สัมภาษณ์
This segment is like a TV program about ghosts. A man is giving an interview on his ability to see a ghost of his friend. What I like very much in this segment is that its tone surprises me. At first I assumed that this segment would be either a comedy or a horror. But it turns out to be neither of them. Its tone is half-serious. The man seriously believes that he can contact a ghost of his friend, and the film neither ridicules the man nor confirms his ability. The viewers must judge by themselves whether the man is believable or not.

4.5 THE MAN WHO IS BECOMING A FATHER ชายผู้ที่กำลังจะเป็นพ่อคน
I like this segment the least in the film. In this segment, a man and a woman is discussing about the case of Annie Brooks and Film Rathapoom, and then they discuss about their own relationship. Then, it is revealed that they are in a dream, but I can't remember many details in it, including:

4.5.1 Whose dream they are in

4.5.2 Whether the woman is pregnant or not pregnant

4.5.3 If the woman is pregnant, who is the father of her child?

4.5.4 Whether the woman was pregnant and lost her child in the past

4.5.5 Whether the woman is already dead

4.5.6 What is the real motivation of the man

Though I think the emotion in this segment falls flat, I still like some aspects of this segment very much, including the fact that this segment enables the film to talk about some topical issues, which might not be related to the main plot of the film.

4.6 MEETING AGAIN พบกันอีกครั้ง
This segment is excellent. I like it very much. In this segment, a university student accidentally meets his old friend. They talk for several minutes. His old friend seems to remind him of a mutual friend who is dead. The performance in this segment is very natural.

What I like very much in this segment is that it is "a slice of life". It doesn't give us any obvious conclusion. It just presents "several minutes" in the life of a man. Several minutes in which nothing important seems to happen. But these several minutes are so true, so heartfelt, so subtle, so deeply moving.

4.7 POOM ปุ้ม
The last segment of this film is extremely powerful. A man and a woman is watching ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004, Michel Gondry) in a theatre. From their conversation, we understand that they are the main characters from LEASTWAYS. The woman is the ghost of the man's friend. There are other viewers in the theatre, too. And these viewers are the male protagonists from other segments in the film.

The man tries hard not to fall asleep, because he realizes that if he falls asleep, his ghost friend will disappear from his life forever. He tries very hard, but in the end he falls asleep in the theatre. Then, we hear the song FUN LUM-IANG by La-ong-fong. A part of the lyrics of this song talks about things like, "if you want to meet that person, you must close your eyes, and think of that person, and dream of that person, because you can't meet that person in reality anymore."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiJNi0Vsa4Y

The ending of this film brings tears to my eyes and reminds me of the last few minutes in the documentary TU AS CRIÉ: LET ME GO (1999, Anne Claire Poirier, Canada). In the documentary, the director mourns the untimely death of her daughter. Anne Claire Poirier seems to make this documentary as a way to heal herself, to come to terms with the death of her own daughter, to understand her own grief and deal with it. In the ending of TU AS CRIÉ: LET ME GO, the director says to the spirit of her daughter, "I LET YOU GO."

Every time I think of this four-word sentence in TU AS CRIÉ: LET ME GO, I cry, and I'm not sure why it has such a tremendous effect on me. Anyway, I think that this sentence indicates that, at last, Anne Claire Poirier can come to terms with the untimely death of her daughter. She will always miss her daughter, but she will not be too much obsessed with this death any more. She now can accept this tragedy as a fact of life, and can now go on living.

The ending of LEASTWAYS/MODERATE WAYS/EXTREME WAYS makes me feel the same way. It makes me feel that, finally, the protagonist of this film can accept the fact that his friend is dead and he can't change it. He can think of his dead friend, but he can't be too obsessed with it, and he must continue living his own life. The ending of Tritos' film makes me feel as if its protagonist wants to say to the spirit of his dead friend, "I DON'T WANT TO LET YOU GO, BUT NOW I MUST LET YOU GO."

Life is sad. The longer you live, the more you will see your beloved ones die. No one can stay with each other forever. What is left is only a memory of the good old times we spent together.

5.LEASTWAYS/MODERATE WAYS/EXTREME WAYS is one of the most powerful films dealing with grief for the death of a loved one. In this film, we never see the protagonist lament for the death of his friend. The topic is even dealt with comically, instead of seriously. But in the end, the film is extremely successful in making me understand the grief of the protagonist.

If I have to screen this film with other films, I may choose to screen it with my favorite films dealing with grief, such as

5.1 ALONG TOGETHER พบ (2009, Wuttipan Deepanya, 9 min)

5.2 ALWAYS (1990, Steven Spielberg)

5.3 COMING TO TERMS WITH THE DEAD (1994, Pascale Ferran)

5.4 THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR (2004, Tod Williams)

5.5 PAPA (2005, Maurice Barthélémy)

5.6 THREE COLOURS: BLUE (1993, Krzysztof Kieslowski)

Tritos' film also reminds me of two songs I like about grief for loved ones. These two songs are:

5.7 I'LL BE THERE -- The Escape Club
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EnO8yRcIeI

5.8 TOGETHER AGAIN (1997) -- Janet Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyQ_81dChWU

In conclusion, LEASTWAYS/MODERATE WAYS/EXTREME WAYS is one of my most favorite Thai films of all time, because it makes me cry uncontrollably, and because the structure of the film is unique: it is composed of seven stories whose styles/tones/genres are different from one another.