Cemetery of Splendor

Cemetery of Splendour is a magical realism tale, that doesn't ask or answer any questions, but lets the viewer ask them for himself while watching.

It is slow paced and leaves a lot to imagination, so you will have to actively watch it, instead of just letting it play in the background.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul had been on my radar after the elusive critical praise for his earlier work that seem fit only for lists like They Shoot Pictures. He doesn't seem to satisfy general audiences in the same way, despite winning at Cannes for Uncle Boonmee. Ostensibly his most personal film, Cemetery of Splendour seemed like a good start. It was certainly an introduction to his ambiguity which Splendour indulges in at every opportunity. It's very rich with its themes, though you have to go with the flow on its spirituality, belief in past lives and superstition, but those themes don't necessarily feel like they string together. More knowledge on Thai politics, history and culture would certainly help to arrive at a concise interpretation, but it does have enough universalities.

There is, however, a fascinating way it contrasts past and present simultaneously. That's its best ambiguous angle. Each shot can be its own individual thought rather than giving myself headaches trying to piece it together. Weerasethakul at least has a wonderful sense of poetic composition and juxtaposition, his choice of a rainbow light aiding him in many senses. But besides the calm and often profound nature of the film, what makes it strike a nerve is the deeply resonating performance from his lead Jenjira Pongpas. She balances humour with empathetic emotion with nuanced ease and anchors the film in her relateability despite her unique situation with her tumurous leg. Cemetery certainly gives a lot to chew on.

8/10

Without having known before, 20 minutes into the film I guessed that it was from the same director of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Weirdly, I didn't take to that film much. I appreciated it greatly, and I did get more out of it on my second viewing of it, but it still left me feeling very distant. I found this much more fixating and engrossing, even if the pace does get to me at times. It's amazingly directed and I think that carries it a long way, but it also benefited from being more grounded on a simple thematic level than Boonmee. Not for everyone, but definitely a film to watch out for. Not recommended for everyone, just for those who know exactly what they're getting into.

When this film ended, I wasn't sure if I had watched it or slept through most of it. Either way, somewhat pleasant...

Once again Weerasethakul comes to us with an enigmatic, folklore-linked story. I find his stories and style of cinema to what Romania does with its cinema. The subject is so foreign and exotic to the normal cinephile, which 80% of the time, because of sheer quantity, consumes American cinema, that when we get to live such a film we are either fooled or dazzled by the narrative.

This is what I feel about Romanian cinema. I, being romanian, see romanian films about communism as something akin to beating a dead horse - and pretty bland cinematically. As a filmmaker that is a very interesting topic to tackle because of the lack of criticism, we couldn't satisfy back then...so, of course, we're gonna milk that cow for as long as possible, mostly because that romanian new wave was filled with directors that lived in that dying period of romanian communism.

The same is happening with Weerasethakuls movies. They are exotic, different, and out-of-the-ordinary...so because of this fresh air approach, the cinephile will most of the time love it unconditionally. I still think his images communicate something more than what is told but we should be skeptical while watching this...he might just dazzle us.

I feel the sleeping soldiers are a metaphor for the laziness of man and his lack of action. And we can find the main actress here also in "Syndromes...", so it's the same universe, as well as the ever-present erection.