- I’ve seen it twice (which is not nearly enough for Weerasethakul but where I’m at right now it’s a step down from Syndromes and a Century (2006) and Uncle Boonmee (2010) which were his two most recent works
- Stealing from the great Justin Chang “ latest gently hypnotic cinematic enigma … Lacking the jungle-feverish exhilaration of the filmmaker’s greatest work,there are no abrupt structural divisions or elisions in evidence, and (somewhat sadly) neither are there any red-eyed Chewbaccas or cunnilingus-inclined catfish.
- Few filmmakers this side of David Lynch are as adept or intuitive as Weerasethakul when it comes to appropriating the language of dreaming-
- sleeping, reincarnation, clinic/medicine
- I get why we’re getting the guy taking a dump in nature- I just wish he had chosen something different- the same point is made with the gorgeous bull/buffalo sequence in Uncle Boonmee
- His ugliest film in awhile
- Bulldozer motif reoccurring- its strong- a statement for sure
- The neon dream machines—and the movie stops- shifting color—it’s a great sequence
- In Uncle Boonmee Weerasethakul goes back in time—the reflection/carriage sequence with the waterfall—some of the greatest images of the decade—here we’re with the two protagonists talking about past lives doing a normal walk in the park- littered with dialogue
- End with the synchronized dancing sequence which ends Syndromes and a Century– again- a statement on our absurdity as trained hamsters in a wheel
- Final image- doorway, protagonist and kids playing soccer with the bulldozers
- Recommend
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