Cannes cheers greet Joe, back in his element

NO LONGER A stranger at the Cannes Film Festival that’s currently underway on the French Riviera, Apichatpong “Joe” Weerasethakul is trying his luck again in the same Un Certain Regard category where he first garnered global acclaim in 2002 with “Sud Saneha” (“Blissfully Yours”).
This year the independent moviemaker is hoping to win over the judges with “Rak Ti Khon Kaen” (“Cemetery of Splendour”).
Reporting from the scene, Kriangsak “Victor” Silakong, director of the annual World Film Festival of Bangkok, tells Soopsip that the theatre was packed for the Cannes premiere on Monday. “The atmosphere was warm and celebratory, he says. “It was a full house and Joe clearly did Thailand proud. He has his own fans here now who follow his work!”
Back in 2002 “Blissfully Yours” was a certified dark horse in the competition at Cannes and the Thai fellow with the tricky-to-pronounce name (“Just call me Joe”) was a virtual unknown. But this time around there was a full-page advert in film-industry journal Variety playing up “Cemetery” as a must-see at the festival.
Set in Khon Kaen, Joe’s hometown, “Rak Ti Khon Kaen” is the story of a middle-aged housewife who tends to a soldier with sleeping sickness. He suffers hallucinations and she ends up seeing phantoms and having strange dreams – as well as romance.
Joe says that he deliberately chose Khon Kaen for the shoot so it would give him a chance to get reacquainted with the old homestead. “My family is still there and I hardly ever see them,” he tells IsaanRecord.com.
A review in The Hollywood Reporter praises the movie’s subdued and carefree approach to storytelling, a Zen take on cinema.
“It is a truly Thai film and uses the Isaan dialect throughout,” Victor observes. “It’s an unbelievable mix of belief, the spiritual world and fact. Yet the film is simple and thought-provoking. Joe still has it, and I salute him!”
There were loud cheers as the credits rolled in Cannes. “The applause went on for a long time, like 10 minutes” Victor says. “It was fantastic!”
Improving the movie’s chances at winning Joe another award is the fact that the jury is headed by beloved Italian actress Isabella Rossellini, who in more recent years has dabbled in experimental filmmaking of the sort for which Joe is now famous.
Unfortunately there wasn’t much of a Thai crowd left at Cannes to help Joe celebrate his movie’s great reception. Several Thai cultural and film-industry figures who’d flown to France to attend a “Thai Night” had already bid adieu a couple of days earlier. Maybe next year the Culture Ministry can work out a better schedule for everyone so there’s a decent mob of homeboys on hand anytime a Thai movie is screening.