TAKE A LOOK AT MEMORIA’S POETIC LANDSCAPE, JESSICA’S JOURNEY, THE STRANGE BANG SOUND, AND ANOTHER ONGOING JOURNEY STARRING BY APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL
TEXT: PRATARN TEERATADA
PHOTO COURTESY OF MEMORIA
(For Thai, press here)
The term ‘soft power’ has been used and mentioned by the Thai government quite frequently, although in this case it probably has a different meaning from what Joe Apichatpong Weerasethakul has been trying to do throughout the two decades of his career, from the beginning to the present where he’s become one of the world’s most respected and admired filmmakers. From Mysterious Object at Noon, Blissfully Yours, Tropical Malady, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Syndromes and a Century, to Cemetery of Splendour, and his latest film Memoria, all are movies made for cinephiles rather than being targeted towards commercial success. The vital elements in Joe’s films are forests, mountains, natural landscape, mundane, local ordinariness, the monkey ghosts, longing spirits, aliens, spaceships, both real and surreal. The dialogues in his films feel authentic, like how people would speak in real life rather than actors acting their roles. These juxtaposed elements are what make Joe’s film and authorship so uniquely appealing.
Tilda Swinton, one of the world’s most acclaimed actors, met Joe several years back at Cannes when Tropical Malady was screened and won the Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Watching the film, Tilda found herself being pulled in by the depicted landscape (the latter half of the film comprises long, extended takes and close-ups of trees and leaves in the deep rainforest). It also sparked her intention to work with the Thai director someday. The two kept contact ever since until the day they decided that Memoria would be the film they would work together, with both Joe and Tilda agreeing that the setting would have to be somewhere that wasn’t Thailand or Scotland, but somewhere that is an entirely new environment in which they were both strangers.
Filmed in Columbia, Memoria received its funding mainly from Thailand, Columbia and France. The film tells the story of Jessica, a Scottish orchid farmer who hears a constant bang in her head. Jessica travelled to Bogota to find out the source of the restless sound. Her journey begins in the city with Brutalist architecture as the background, then through a tunnel and into the forest. The movie takes time telling its story, progressing unhurriedly with certain elements of time and space carefully tailored, similar to a piece of poetry or an installation art. The dialogues, cinematographic compositions, depicted images of the city, the jungle, mountains and clouds work together in a perfect tandem. Tilda Swinton’s acting is of high quality, as expected with her perfect portrayal of someone who is going through the experience of having a disturbing noise pounding in her head, and the confusion that seems to be caused by the displacement of things in her life. Meanwhile, Joe’s romantic take can still be found in the film, especially through the aspect of ‘listening’ and ‘shared emotions.’
The people who have never seen any of Joe’s films before may find it hard to stay and watch until the end. Many left the cinema mid-way while some who stuck around and finished the film wondered what was entertaining about it. Speaking as someone who has been a fan of Joe’s works, it’s like reaching and unlocking a new level of movie watching experience. The more I journeyed into the film, the more immersed I became. The feeling that is hard to describe but to me, it was discernible. It’s a film made truly for the film buffs, those who worship cinema like something they hold on to in order to continue living.
For Joe, Memoria is like coming back home to Khon Kaen, a Northeastern town in Thailand where he grew up. The place didn’t have much for a young boy like Joe to do, but one of his fondest memories he has was being able to go into the cinema and see different worlds and different places through films. As for Tilda Swinton, her suggestion for one to truly enjoy Memoria is to use your heart, sight and most importantly ears. And trust me, you’re going to be using all these senses quite intensely while watching this film. Memoria will be coming to theaters in Thailand on March 3rd, 2022.
