Apichatpong Ranked

By: filmcapsule

Apichatpong Weerasethakul has been my most recent cinematic obsession. His style defies easy categorization. His films are “experimental” and “avant garde”, maybe even “intellectual”, but for me they’re never dry, austere or boring: quite the contrary. Even at their most baffling and challenging, the films are inviting: warm, compassionate and beautiful.

Apichatpong, at a relatively young age, has created a body of work that is at once varied and of a single, unified cinematic vision. He deals with nature, memory, love, existence, spirituality and cinema itself. However these themes appear, they are not discrete ideas, but all part of Apichatpong’s unique worldview.

These films are also remarkable visually. Moving or static, Apichatpong’s camera is always poised and graceful. He has a knack for finding beauty in detail, however mundane. Particularly when dealing with nature, he is a keen observer and a faithful reporter.

This ranking is difficult because these films resonate with me on different levels for different reasons. I imagine that the ordering might change a bit as I revisit some of these. Please check back as I add more detailed reviews. I’ve also seen Thirdworld; let me know if you find any of Apichatpong’s other work on YouTube or elsewhere online!

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Tropical Malady: This movie left me stunned. I love Syndromes and Century, too, and while it may be more tightly-constructed and intellectually deep, Tropical Malady made an emotional impact. The second half is breathtaking and riveting cinema. Shooting in the jungle (often in the dark), Apichatpong has documented an intense spiritual connection I couldn’t begin to describe.

A Letter to Uncle Boonmee: I think this a ghost film. Nabua’s past is palpable, melding with the present in every visual and aural detail: the pictures on the walls, the rotating fan, windows, nature. The physical spaces, which feel incredibly real, are laden with memories and ghosts. Like Uncle Boonmee, they return with each reincarnation, and are inseparable with the place. / Read my full review.

Syndromes and a Century: Perhaps Apichatpong’s most beautiful, touching work, and a great synthesis of his cinema. It’s clear that he feels such love for these characters and locations. Many of his films feature bifurcations or divisions, but in Syndromes the two halves are rife with riffs on each other’s images and themes.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives: Read my full review.

Worldly Desires: Three films are being shot in Worldly Desires, and at every turn more and more is said about how these levels of cinema relate. One dominates sonically, one dominates visually, but in the end it’s Apichatpong who takes over with a litany of nature scenes. This film looks fantastic.

Mysterious Object at Noon: This is a celebration of everyday people, their homes, stories, and imaginations. It’s also a creative look into the creative process which seeks to demystify film making, but which does so while advancing singular visual and narrative styles. Basically, it’s auterism at its most humble. / Read my full review. / Watch

Blissfully Yours: While not Apichatong’s most fully-realized film, this is an admirable effort, tranquilly observing the quiet moments of life, even amid raging hormones. It’s graceful and gentle, content to simply watch its well-drawn characters relax. At times, it seems the characters are being judged for their inability to connect in meaningful ways or for empty sexual impulses, but the “drama” of the film is so slight and fragile that it resists this narrow interpretation. / Read my full review.

Phantoms of Nabua: Again superimposing different visual planes and realities, Apichatpong has created a dramatic, striking metaphor for cinema.

The Adventure of Iron Pussy: It’s good to see that Apichatpong acquits himself well in this “mainstream” musical-action-comedy fare. The silent scene where Iron Pussy meets Pew is particularly interesting. Joe is clearly having fun here.

Mobile Men: Watch / Info