Apichatpong Weerasethakul

ummmmm...

Mysterious Object Delivered At Noon?

According to the-numbers.com, his latest and Tsai's have each grossed about $15,0000 in North America.

Why do some of us continue to write about these for public consumption? Barely distributed, and nobody goes.

i tried to pimp this movie out as much as possible but it doesn't help that it's not distributed or available on video here :(

disheartening, ain't it? as baffled and left semi-cold as I was by it.

haha. it's weird though, especially considering all the shit foreign fare that opens here anyway

Shit makes money. Go figure.

Wet Hot American Summer was a b.o. dud. Coincidence?

on seeing a Syndromes and a Century / I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone twinbill:

http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/2007/07/dialogue-vs-duplicity-notes-on.html

i almost basically did the same double bill at tiff!

I saw In Between Days last night, which I liked a bit more than either.

i want to see that for sure.

I want to know how to pronounce his name.

To the average American filmgoer it could rhyme with "Short Round" for all they care.

it's why he goes by "Joe"

Ha, I was at that Syndromes screening! I wonder if this is the dude who wanted to see the copy of Cinemascope I was reading? Cinephile secret handshake.

I really liked Syndromes, it was probably the first JOE film that I've just loved from beginning to end. Some of it was ridiculously beautiful. I know that it is somewhat of a cliche to talk about architecture and filmic space, but the way he shoots the two hospital structures really impressed me, particularly the first dentist's office (both day and night!). The only film that I've seen recently that used built environments so well was...I Don't Want To Sleep Alone.

We should do another thread about architects-turned-filmmakers (and vice versa), it's sort of an obsession of mine.

Or architecture STUDENTS, at least.

well, he lost me in the 2nd half, esp after we went up that steamy vent.

b-b-b-but that was at the end! =)

From your description, Morbz, it sounds like you were bored by the porn.

After his other films I expected a more difficult second half but it was fine, perhaps a little more fractured than the first.

Meta-porn

Not quite, Adam.

You mean IBD is a year and a half old, and it's played NYC before Montreal?

No one else will ever be able to say this in this thread: I saw Memoria tonight, then I hung around for Caddyshack afterwards. (Not an obscurely conceptual double-bill, just bizarre programming.)

Fifteen or 20 minutes in, Memoria had a scene with subtitles. That went on for a couple of minutes, and then, for the rest of the film, no more subtitles. Two-four-six-eight people walked out at different points. Seeing as I was staying for the second film, I stuck it out, not 100% sure if it was a mistake or intentional--part of me wondered if it was the most audacious, arrogant example ever of a director saying "This is pure cinema so pure, subtitles aren't necessary."

The rest of us got a free pass as we exited, so evidently a mistake. (It was the first of a few screenings this week.) I will try to see it again and withhold comment until I do.

No subtitles for Caddyshack, either, but even though I was seeing it for the first time, I was able to follow along for the most part.

Cool, so you liked Memoria!

I saw memoria in the theatre a couple weeks ago.

BONG!

wasn't sure about it tbh, glad I watched it but some aspects I didn't really enjoy and there's a bit near the end that made me chuckle somewhat derisively.

best scenes are the long dialogues between Tilda and the dude at the end

that bit near the end is transcendent

xxp You’re lucky, after my screening we got Caddyshack II.

Now I’m just imagining Tilda passing by Chevy Chase doing his zen driver practice in the middle of a mountain jungle lmfao

there's a bit near the end that made me chuckle somewhat derisively.

You mean the "Flight of the Navigator" ship with a new paint job? This not particularly convincing sfx shot kind of broke whatever spell the film was casting. I forget which one, but one of Jia Zhangke's films does this too - a naturalistically shot film with one special effect that sticks out like a sore thumb.

I certainly agree with a lot of the positive comments about this, but it's probably my least favourite of the five of his films I've seen.

I was not aware until I saw his name in the credits that Danny Glover has a production company that has been involved in three of Weerasethakul's films.

Props to Hernan #2 for playing dead so well for so long.

So there is going to be a physical media release for Memoria after all:

https://sovereignfilms.square.site/product/memoria-limited-collector-s-edition-bluray-dvd-/2

I want my eight bucks back!

siren.gif

https://metrograph.com/apichatpongweerasethakul/

GMC: I want to know more about what you’re working on, but first I must congratulate you: Tropical Malady was just voted one of the 100 best films of all time. I imagine you saw the Sight and Sound poll. Does that kind of recognition mean anything to you? And are you surprised Tropical Malady was singled out, rather than one of your other films?

AW: Well, sometimes I am asked to make a list, and often I change that list. So, it doesn’t mean much… And for me, it doesn’t mean one work; Tropical Malady belongs to the other pieces of my memory because they are all connected. Whatever film is in there, it’s the same, they’re connected. What is meaningful is that the film still resonates after all this time. It’s like a very, very old memory, so I’m surprised.

GMC: You’re in the process of restoring Tropical Malady, right?

AW: Yes, hopefully we’ll be able to release it by August next year.

Bought the t-shirt
http://tickets.ifccenter.com/images/user/_13370/weersethakul%20mock%20on%20natural.jpg

clem! Did you ever give Memoria a second shot?!

Never did post here about seeing Memoria -- caught it at one of some irregular Alamo screenings here last September. Very involving, I thought, and I'm glad for the experience.

forks where did you get that shirt

It's been almost two years since Memoria screened at Cannes and won the Jury Prize, and it looks like it isn't going to be available on streaming or on dvd in the US any time soon, although it is continuing to be shown at a few various small theaters around the country for one day or one week at a time.

That strategy has some brilliance, I see that it is trying to build a cult audience, but it is also very frustrating

table:
https://tickets.ifccenter.com/websales/pages/CatalogProductInfo.aspx?catinfo=3428~8722a542-64c1-4c0b-af02-c3e8a239d769&epguid=96a5becf-2226-4da1-b589-53e5c6a24d95

thanks forks

http://www.moriareviews.com/rongulator/wp-content/uploads/Tropical-Malady-2004-1-650x366.jpg

Just got this from the library, excited to watch sometime this week.

UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010) Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Sensory Meridian Response is a wonderful thing. In the Thai genius’s movies, the characters speak slowly and hypnotically, usually in tandem with a soothing symphony of buzzing insects. Uncle Boonmee, in particular, depicts a somnolent environment in which ghosts, monsters and humans peacefully co-exist. Subsequently, the soundscape is two hours of pure pleasure, including an “aural” sex scene between a princess and a catfish that amounts to ASMR-esque ripples of water and an occasional moan. As Weerasethakul encourages viewers to fall asleep during his movies, his entire back catalogue can be appreciated with closed eyes. So much so, the director released an album of “selected soundworks” from his filmography, including the jungle noises from Uncle Boonmee.

same here but i don’t think i’ve ever heard rain sound so amazing and lifelike in a film as i did watching this in a theater

Omg WANT

on a recent long flight I had put a rip of Syndromes and a Century on my iPad and expected it to not quite work in that context, but I was drawn in and mesmerised as always. I have no idea how he sustains such a hold during long, slow takes. I find his stuff transformative to watch. I think I’m kind of addicted to how it feels.

he's coming to the walker in mpls in april. going to screen his shorts and a few days before is introducing a tsai ming-liang film

http://walkerart.org/calendar/2023/apichatpong-weerasethakul-in-conversation-with-sky-hopinka

Oh man, he's introducing Goodbye, Dragon Inn — which I think is his favorite film. I'd love to see that on a big screen.

So I made it exactly 3 minutes into Uncle Boonmee before I fell asleep. Not gonna lie, i allowed myself to nap through the entire thing. 10/10, mostly for the audio, and also for the occasional glimpses of the film i caught whenever i remembered to open my eyes.

Will rewatch 'properly' before I return it, needless to say his album of "selected soundworks" has jumped to the top of my wantlist.

I bet he would be delighted with that experience