Ghost of Asia

Thailand, France

2005

9 Min

Color

Thai

Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
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DIR Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Christelle Lheureux

SCR Jantrakansorn Sukkrajang, Sakda Poka, Nantawat Poonpeum

CAST Sakda Kaewbuadee, Decha Woongon

SOUND Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr

Synopsis

Ghost of Asia is a celebration of living and of pleasures. The filmmakers imagine a ghost who still lives and wanders around the seashores. At a Thai island, they invited kids – two boys and a girl, to make a movie. The kids are provided with an actor whose function is like a puppet, like a ghost, to perform tasks dictated by them. The film is structured according to the kids’ real-time direction pattern. The actor became their simulated life, their projection of possible things one can do. —Kick the Machine

Director

Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Apichatpong “Joe” Weerasethakul (Thai: อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล; born July 16, 1970) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. His feature films include Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, winner of the prestigious 2010 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or prize; Tropical Malady, which won a jury prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival; Blissfully Yours, which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard program at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival; and Syndromes and a Century, which premiered at the 63rd Venice Film Festival and was the first Thai film to be entered in competition there.

Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system, Weerasethakul has directed several features and dozens of short films. Themes reflected in his films (frequently discussed in interviews) include dreams, nature, sexuality (including his own homosexuality), and Western perceptions of Thailand and Asia, and his films… read more