08-10-2019, 02:18 PM
On reflection, I was perhaps a bit too harsh in my assessment of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives a few years ago. After all, it did take the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2010. And Criterion.com holds director Apichatpong Weerasethakul in very high regard and is featuring several of his movies right now. Such as Mysterious Object at Noon, which I couldn't recall seeing until I revisited its poster,
![[Image: uc?export=view&id=1VFbDhfNyyOF6LH7pR_WJYG_tSfkH2XrJ]](https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1VFbDhfNyyOF6LH7pR_WJYG_tSfkH2XrJ)
which struck a familiar cord in me (though I can't recall why).
Still, I'm willing to accept that Criterion is a far better judge of merit than me, so I decided to give Apichatpong Weerasethakul another go, spooling up a newer one of his featured movies, Cemetery of Splendor (2015), to give it a gawk.
It opens with a long shot of digging equipment at work in a small jungle clearing. After about 5 minutes it pans to a hut interior where a man lies supine on a cot. At first I thought he was dead, but then saw the barest rise and fall of his chest. After a while a woman comes in to check on him, and after that there's a shot of a bigger hut with more people in beds. They look dead except for the barely perceptible rise and fall of their chests. There's some discussion among attendants about these people's mysterious affliction and speculation on whether they dream. Eventually we learn that one woman in attendance is known for her psychic abilities. When asked, she can tell what one of the patients is thinking about. There is no visual presentation of the patient's mental experience; the woman just describes it. All very static, people in beds, attendants quietly talking now and then.
I don't know how much I actually watched, because I kept falling asleep. Maybe there were eventually more visuals. But I just couldn't get anywhere with it and gave up 30 or 40 minutes in.
Maybe someday I'll be able to crack the nut that is Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Until then, I won't be saying his name three times fast.
which struck a familiar cord in me (though I can't recall why).
Still, I'm willing to accept that Criterion is a far better judge of merit than me, so I decided to give Apichatpong Weerasethakul another go, spooling up a newer one of his featured movies, Cemetery of Splendor (2015), to give it a gawk.
It opens with a long shot of digging equipment at work in a small jungle clearing. After about 5 minutes it pans to a hut interior where a man lies supine on a cot. At first I thought he was dead, but then saw the barest rise and fall of his chest. After a while a woman comes in to check on him, and after that there's a shot of a bigger hut with more people in beds. They look dead except for the barely perceptible rise and fall of their chests. There's some discussion among attendants about these people's mysterious affliction and speculation on whether they dream. Eventually we learn that one woman in attendance is known for her psychic abilities. When asked, she can tell what one of the patients is thinking about. There is no visual presentation of the patient's mental experience; the woman just describes it. All very static, people in beds, attendants quietly talking now and then.
I don't know how much I actually watched, because I kept falling asleep. Maybe there were eventually more visuals. But I just couldn't get anywhere with it and gave up 30 or 40 minutes in.
Maybe someday I'll be able to crack the nut that is Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Until then, I won't be saying his name three times fast.