The sublime and the spiritual

BACK IN CANNES to present a film for the first time since winning the Palme d’Or in 2010, Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul premiered his latest oeuvre “Cemetery of Splendour” (“Rak Ti Khon Kaen” on Monday to a standing ovation that lasted a full 10 minutes.
Instead of playing in the main competition, which is the norm for films whose directors have won the much-coveted top prize, “Cemetery of Splendour” was screened in the Un Certain Regard category alongside other titles from acknowledged Asian masters like Naomi Kawase’s “An” and Brillante Mendoza’s “Taklub”.
Apichatpong, though, was unperturbed.
“‘Cemetery of Splendour’ is another step forward for me, but I understand why the film was chosen for Un Certain Regard. As I said on the stage, Un Certain Regard is the section for real discovery and excitement, and I am happy that the film is being shown with other titles from new directors who will be the future of cinema,” he told XP.
Apichatpong came to Cannes for the first time in 2002 with French producer Charles de Meaux for the screening of his second feature, “Blissfully Yours”, which went home with the top prize from Un Certain Regard and became an Asian classic.
“I’ve had this idea about sleeping as a form of escapism since I worked on the exhibition ‘Primitive’. My films are always about time and crossing frontiers between reality and fantasy, or life and death," says Apichatpong, adding that he had been toying with the idea for the film even before starting work on his Palme d’Or winner, “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives”.
A Khon Kaen native, Apichatpong decided to film “Cemetery of Splendour” entirely in the city and many of its attractions including Kaen Nakhon Lake make their screen debuts.
“I wanted to make a simple work. I went back to Khon Kaen and have tried to show the spirit and rhythm of the city in the film. I wanted to observe rather than make the audience feel the presence of the filmmaker in this work,” he says.
Actress Jenjira Pongpas Widner, who has appeared in all of Apichatpong's film except “Tropical Malady”, is the main character in “Cemetery of Splendour”.
“Jenjira is a big influence on me. I’ve done several art exhibitions recently and she is one of the main pillars of my work. She represents me and my mother, and she’s a talented actress too,” he says.
In “Cemetery of Splendour”, Jenjira plays a volunteer charged with taking care of a group of soldiers who, after digging up a building site for a government project, have fallen ill with a mysterious kind of sleeping sickness. They are being taken care of in a new hospital that looks like a school building and treated with some kind of mysterious machines. Another volunteer Keng (Jarinpattra Rueangram), who has the powers of a medium, says their condition is due to the fact that they have disturbed an ancient cemetery of kings and the spirits are now sucking out their souls.
Jenjira develops an interest in Itt, a soldier who wakes up from time to time. Itt is played by Banlop Lomnoi, who hasn’t worked with Apichatpong since “Tropical Malady”.
“I really love the scene in ‘Tropical Malady’ when he sleeps in the forest,” Apichatpong muses.
“It made me want to know what his character in ‘Tropical Malady’ was dreaming about. For this film, I’ve add more details from his real life.”
A few years ago, Banlop was running a business selling spring rolls in gas station cafes and it is this part of his life that the director shows in the film.
 “Cemetery of Splendour” also features a fair number of amusing Thai cultural references, though it’s difficult to know how foreign audiences relate to these. They include a mention of Leena Jung – Leena Jungjunja in real life – a businesswoman and one-time political hopeful, who set up the “Hot TV” satellite station to sell her “Hi-So Leena” cosmetic line and is known for her acid tongue. In the film, she is referred to as mother.
Another amusing scene involves the meeting between Jenjira and Jao Mae Song Nang, local deities to whom Jenjira presents a small gibbon doll. But probably the funniest part of the film is the scene where Jenjira and Itt go to cinema and see the trailer of “The Iron Coffin Killer” (“Boon Peng Heeb Lek”) on the big screen. This old-fashioned black magic horror film, directed by Payoong Payakool, a veteran of the business since its 16mm days, stars Irin Sriklaew, the notoriously sexy Thai star. The film has yet to be released in Thai theatres.
“Cemetery of Splendour” is slated to travel to many festivals around the world, but right now it seems unlikely that it will be seen in Thailand.
“Of course, I want to show this film in Thailand but it depends on money. I may lose money if I release this film at home,” Apichatpong laments.

On the Web:
www.facebook.com/CemeteryOfSplendour