Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Silence interrupted
Life, Tatat Bunnag, Published on 02/03/2022
» Much like his second feature film Blissfully Yours in 2002, serene stillness is the first impression we get from Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria (in local cinemas tomorrow). Everything remains silent for a long period of time, but suddenly there's a loud booming sound resounding in the head of Jessica, played by Tilda Swinton, a British expat living in Colombia. The noise is loud enough to wake her up from the bed of her hotel room, as she begins experiencing a mysterious sensory syndrome. It forces Jessica out to the city and through the jungle in search of the source of the sound. From that moment on, the sound plays a crucial role to the story in Memoria. While this strange sound is the main inspiration for the film, it is also what Apichatpong has been struggling with over the past few years.
Time for Asean films to shine
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 08/12/2021
» The pandemic notwithstanding, it has been a stimulating year for Southeast Asian cinema. Reflective, heartfelt and oddball new titles from Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have won major prizes or become critical favourites at international film festivals throughout 2021. Now, many of these films are coming to the big screen in Thailand as the Bangkok Asean Film Festival 2021 (BAFF) is set to open tonight.
Of trench coats and show trials
Life, Published on 14/08/2018
» TK Park is putting on In The Shadow (Ve Stinu) from the Czech Republic as part of the "Contemporary World Film Series" on Saturday at 4pm.
The politics of trans acting
Life, Melalin Mahavongtrakul, Published on 30/04/2018
» Kudos and controversy in film, and other happenings in this month's round-up of LGBT news
Doc lovers rejoice!
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 18/03/2016
» It is high time for audiences who appreciate the rough-edged reality of documentary films. Of the five nominees of the Oscar for best documentary feature, three had a regular release in Bangkok cinemas (Amy, Cartel Land, The Look of Silence), something unthinkable a few years ago when no distributor wanted to risk showing non-fiction films in cinemas. Now there is almost always at least one documentary film at SF CentralWorld, with the initiation of the independent outfit Documentary Club (in the programme now is The Hunting Ground, about rape crimes in American universities).
Will the best films win the Oscars?
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 26/02/2016
» The Oscar night is also the Oscar-bashing night. It was always the night (or morning, in our time zone) of constant bemoaning and condescension, because the Academy voters, like most voters, always get it wrong, at least to million others around the world who believe, in our collective delirium, that we have a stake in this pageant taking place somewhere in Los Angeles. Things have taken a turn for the worse with the snap judgement made possible by social media; now the outrage and disbelief are so raw since they're aired in real time, on Facebook and Twitter, like I did last year when I was convinced that it was against every law of nature that Birdman, a well-crafted display of pretension and self-obsession, won over the more delicate Boyhood.
Documenting a murderous time
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 11/02/2016
» Against all odds, this strange, chilling and powerful film is opening in Bangkok and Chiang Mai cinemas today.
Ones to watch
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 01/01/2016
» Clear your schedule for Bangkok's main film event: The World Film Festival of Bangkok, which returns next week for its 13th edition, with a buffet of over 50 movies showing at SF CentralWorld from Nov 13-22.
Wild tales
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 13/11/2015
» 'Morning now dawned and Shahrazad broke off from what she had allowed to say…" -- so begins the story on each night of Tales Of 1,001 Nights, the fantastic yarns of peasants, kings, slaves, lovers, viziers, angels, sex, human anatomy (Night 449), devils in the bottle (Night 567), glory, injustice, pleasure, and all the mundane and the magical in the world. It is the collection of some of the greatest tales ever told. But then, what, exactly, is Arabian Nights all about?
10 to see
Life, Published on 10/10/2014
» A banquet of movies is back to please gluttonous (not always a bad thing) cinema-goers at the 12th World Film Festival of Bangkok, which begins next Friday at SF CentralWorld. As usual, European titles, Asian mavericks, Latin American stories as well as hot documentaries pack the 10-day programme that shows a total of 60 films.