Showing 41 - 50 of 78
Leaving a Thai impression
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 01/01/2016
» Once again, a small Thai film blew over Cannes Film Festival like a graceful lover. On Monday, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Cemetery Of Splendour (or Rak Ti Khon Kaen) was screened to a thundering 10-minute standing ovation in the Un Certain Regard section, where the film's elegant formalism and aching beauty, deeply rooted in the northeastern spirit and post-coup reflection, shook up the festival slumber.
Chinese hegemony
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 01/01/2016
» A gloomy assassin prowls the breathtaking fields of the Tang-era kingdom, while China's awkward march to become a 21st century world power stirs the emotional core of its people. The two Chinese-language films — Mountains May Depart from the mainland, The Assassin from Taiwan — let us savour two distinct sensibilities in the main competition as the world's largest movie showcase rounds its last bend. The awards will be announced on Sunday night, and the two films seem to have a decent chance of winning prizes, either big or small, in a year when the majority of the top-tier line-up leaves much to be desired.
A spot of Czech art, anyone?
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 23/12/2015
» The curved walls of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) are lined with pictures by Czech artists -- witty, strange and sometimes tinged with the surreal. There are two exhibitions: "The Magic World of Czech Illustrators for Children", which takes up the 4th and the 5th floor, and "Café Puzzle" by Jiri Sliva, which is on the 3rd floor. Together they give a broad perspective of Czech pop-art illustration, with a distinctive Eastern European mix of dry humour and imagination.
Foreign film contenders
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 18/12/2015
» Star Wars is colonising your waking life, so let me warp you to the neighbouring galaxy. The Oscar season is brewing, and one of the categories we're always interested in -- at least because it's the only category that is about the world and not just about Hollywood -- is the foreign language film. This year 81 countries submitted their films to the Academy. The long list will be announced in January, and the five finalists later in the month.
Dead cool
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 27/11/2015
» Javanese vampires, an undead tribe of immortal warlocks, a hard-boiled detective and an assortment of beautiful demons -- all of which stalk the twilight of Jakarta looking for blood, thrills and power in HBO Asia's original series Halfworlds. Premiering on Sunday at 9pm on HBO, the eight-episode show mixes Southeast Asian folklore with anime-cool and noir cinema, and it shows promise of a regional TV production that carries a dose of international appeal.
Lessons from the hitmaker
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 20/11/2015
» Surprise, shock and awe greeted the news that GTH, Thailand's most commercially successful movie studio, will close shop at the end of the year.
Expanding the Asean screen
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 23/10/2015
» Across Indochina the movie houses are bubbling with energy, and as the region's big brother in popular culture, Thai film is quick to tap into these growing markets. Some recent examples: The teen comedy May Who?, which came out here earlier this month, has just opened in Laos and Cambodia (with the same familiar posters, but with the wriggling scripts of the local languages).
Melancholic, dissonant memories
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 23/10/2015
» Jakrawal Nilthamrong's Vanishing Point is a story of loss, death, alternative destinies and reminiscence of sadness. It floats a few inches above the ground, it connects, disconnects and reconnects lives and fates, sometimes in a dissonant manner, and even though you may scratch your head wondering what exactly is going on, the film's semi-experimental style and narrative rupture has a strange intoxication.
Sex, lies and videotape
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 18/09/2015
» The title is appropriately provoking. The Elle Men Film Festival 18-Plus, which begins on Sept 25, has prompted cinemagoers to imagine a feast of mild pornography served up on the big screen uncut. Don't get overexcited, anyway. While three of the six films in this mini showcase indeed feature sexual content deserving the R-rating, the interpretation of the "18-plus" here can be less libidinous than that. In fact, the other half of the films shown are almost family-friendly, and that 18-year-old milestone should designate the intellectual ability to grasp a world whose complexity can only stir feelings in adults.
A poem in motion
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 11/09/2015
» From the first shot to the last, when the assassin leads a group of peasants into the majestic wilderness of Tang Dynasty China, this is likely to be the most ravishing film you'll see in a long while. The swift tumult of fabric, the heart-bleeding colours, the luxuriant verdant of the forest -- The Assassin, shot on 35mm at a time when almost every film in the world is shot on digital, is also a martial arts drama that compels us to rethink the essence of the genre. Historically regarded as a cheap, sweaty form of entertainment, the wuxia film has reached the pinnacle of high-art in this Taiwanese production -- and some audiences will certainly feel baffled, if not exasperated.