The Anthem
In a tribute to the king and a blessing of the audience, the national anthem plays in Thai cinemas before each screening. Weerasethakul references this tradition here, interpreting it in his own way and celebrating the essence of the cinematic spectacle. Like in many other films, he breaks the story into two parts. One, static, shows a conversation among three protagonists; camera movement is quintessential to the other - it wanders around the gym, blessed by one of the women.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Apichatpong Weerasethakul was born in 1970 in Bangkok, but grew up in Khon Kaen in northeastern Thailand. In 1994 he received his degree in Architecture and in 1997 in Directing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In the mid-1990s, he began making his first short films, and his feature debut was the experimental documentary Mysterious Object at Noon (2000). A decade later his Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives won the Golden Palm at the 63rd Cannes IFF.
Selected filmography
2000 Tajemniczy obiekt w południe / Dokfa nai meuman / Mysterious Object at Noon
2001 Nawiedzone domy / Haunted Houses
2002 Skrajne żądze / Sud sanaeha / Blissfully Yours
2003 Przygody Iron Pussy / Hua jai tor ra nong / The Adventure of Iron Pussy
2004 Choroba tropikalna / Sud pralad / Tropical Malady
2006 Światło stulecia / Sang sattawat / Syndromes and a Century
2010 Wujek Boonmee, który potrafi przywołać swoje poprzednie wcielenia / Loong Boonmee raleuk chat / Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
2012 Mekong Hotel
2015 Cmentarz wspaniałości / Rak ti Khon Kaen / Cemetery of Splendour
2021 Memoria