Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is Terrible

Fanboys who love Woo have no means of comprhending his master Jean-Pierre Melville — much less Arthur Freed.

(IOW — Woo is NOT his Fanboys)

Lets not beat up on Q.T because his films are great and just cause some people get hung up on the cursing and violence, that’s not his fault, but the people. I am tired of everyone bashing Quentin Tarantino. I agree with

Blue K, the class is no more deserving to win the Palm D’or than this film.
I really thought the class was crap, so lets NOT look to Parisian film critics as if they where Cashier Du Cinema circa the time when Godard and Truffaut, and other new wavers that wrote for the magazine. The Parisian critics are no more adept then the American ones.

We are living in a time where there are no Pauline Kaels nor are there any Andy Sarris. Filmmmakers would make the best critics but they dont weigh in on stuff because it would be to blunt and harsh. I wish Paul Schader still did movie reviews. Or Actors. Instead we all play it P.C and try to say nice things about everything. Some of the best critics are online and can be found at certain blogs, thats the TRUTH. Most of the yahoo’s on T.V are stale and lack bite. Most of film critics lack the time put in seeing and absorbing films from yesteryear, so they LACK a point of reference and OVERALL they lack FILM LITERACY.

I havent seen any of this Thai director’s film but I am intrigued. I would like to see it. I will give him a shot, then I will comeback to this topic and post my thoughts on the film, but when I embark on discovery this directors work I will use Uncle Boonmee as a starting point because I like the title and I like the little that I hear about it, then I will see Tropical whatever the heck.

Um, I love John Woo and I fucking dig the hell out of Jean Pierre Melville. Also I really liked the clip of Pass me the peace pipe, from Arthur Freed and I am not gay. Perhaps I liked the colors, and the song itself Pass me the PEACE PIPE! I have been getting into musicals as of late, thanks to Scorsese and my purchasing of New York,New York. I will say this, if your a true Scrorsese disciple you will enjoy NY,NY and the commentary on the DVD is one of the best Ive heard him give. I FUCKING LOATHE most musicals these are most of the 60s stuff. Late 60s. The musicals of the 30s,40s I love. As for the 50s this a hairy area when it comes to musicals some are DYNO-MITE and some are crap. I am not biggest fan of West Side Story, it took many years of having to sit through that motherfucker for me to actually begin to let it grow on me…

Fanboy: http://bit.ly/9CCNGX
Love the list of synonyms!

“Filmmmakers would make the best critics but they dont weigh in on stuff because it would be to blunt and harsh.”

I don’t know, in my experience filmmakers tend to make the worst critics because they are too sympathetic to the struggles they know the work entailed. They seem to give their contemporaries, especially those whose sensibility is similar to their own, too much leeway because making any film is so difficult. I want my critics to stick to evaluating the result, not the effort.

There are exceptions of course.

It’s not Weerasethakul’s best, but none of his films are for the “average film viewer”. Even if it was Syndromes and a century that won, there would be a thread on here stating “Syndromes and a century is terrible”.

It can’t be much worse than Blissfully Yours, or Tropical Malady with it’s overlong second half of wandering through the jungle, jumbled editing, and random text on the screen.

I’m all for Weerasethakul. He’s doing what he wants, and everyone can kiss his ass basically. We’ve hopefully seen enough times in the industry that a success toward an audience doesn’t make any difference in the merit of a film being good or not.

Weerasethakul is exciting, out of nowhere boring, and awkward cinema that makes me, personally, constantly interested in making films. He’s one of those guys who’s a few steps ahead, and makes it hard on critics who always think they’ve got it down, and need directors like Weerasethakul to piss them off

I don’t know, in my experience filmmakers tend to make the worst critics because they are too sympathetic to the struggles they know the work entailed. They seem to give their contemporaries, especially those whose sensibility is similar to their own, too much leeway because making any film is so difficult. I want my critics to stick to evaluating the result, not the effort.

If a filmmaker gets a lot of media exposure, then he’s probably saying nice things, or he’s just got no publicist. Political correctness and the advent of the publicist as the arbiter of journalistic integrity means that all opinions are filtered down to powdered sugar.

“Lets not beat up on Q.T because his films are great and just cause some people get hung up on the cursing and violence, that’s not his fault, but the people. I am tired of everyone bashing Quentin Tarantino.”

His films are not great. On occasion they rise to the level of passable.

I never tire of bashing him. In the Fanboy universe (this site is infested with them) he’s God.

“West Side Story” is indeed problematic. It’s more operetta than musical. And it has no antecedents.

I’d love for Joe to make a musical.

“Fanboys are under-20s (and those still wishing the were under20) addicted to slick “action” movies, obscure genre films, “Star Wars” and Quentin Tarantino.

If you’re obsessed with Arthur Freed musicals you’re not a Fanboy.

You’re gay."

Well David, while fanboys commonly are into the previously mentioned directors and films, that isn’t the definition of the word.

Fanboy – A fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom.

Here is an example; Joe loves Tarantino. He is his favourite director. He’s 30 and he lives in his own apartment.

That could be a fanboy. Notice how he isn’t necessarily a big fan of the previously mentioned titles, directors or even fitting into the same age or living situation. So now that you know the definition of fanboy you can stop using it as a grand, sweeping statement to spitefully put down those young kids who know nothing.

Unless you’re a fanboy of using terms incorrectly, then I guess you could keep at it.

Oh yeah, I kind of fit in as a Woo fanboy. Weirdly, I loved Le Samourai and like to think I have a solid understanding of the film. Does that break down boundaries or am I just not truly comprehending the intellectual merits of his master Melville?

Us fanboys you know, can’t trust us.

I have never heard anyone use the term ‘fanboy’ to merely mean ‘a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something’. It is inherent in the colloquial usage of the term that I have encountered that the person has an excessive and often myopic devotion to the subject, not merely enthusiasm and appreciation. That’s a fan. A fanboy – note the boy – implies some sort of immaturity.

Now, you can use it the other way if you like, but when other people use it, know that they mean something else. Since they are the ones using the term, it is important not for you to understand what they don’t mean by referencing some archaic definition but what they actually mean by asking, “What do you mean” – although in this case he already told you exactly what he means, so the issue is solved. That is what he means. Period. Stop arguing semantics.

Note that David is merely an anti-fanboy, taking the same approach but from the opposite level of enthusiasm, with no regard for subjectivity but merely positing an objective stance in line with his own opinion.

Can we get back to Joe and his films?

All right, I’ll throw one out. Is there an artist in particular who would be a good source of influence for Joe and his two cinematographers for this film? I’d like to go to some art to get a frame of reference for this work, being somewhat ignorant about his process.

Well, Chris Marker’s La Jetée is an obvious influence on one of the sections of the film. The section deals with the political oppression of the communist Nabua region of Northern Thailand by the Southern-based totalitarian military regime via still images and voice-over. Sadly, I am not familiar with Thai TV or folklore, so I can not talk about the influence on any of the other sections.

^
What Nick said about one of the sections being influenced by Marker’s La Jetee is definitely on the mark.

And as for the references to Thai folklore and other various myths, I’d maintain that while’s it’s certainly helpful to be familiar with them, not being familiar with them in itself should not preclude anyone from enjoying and ruminating upon this film. After all, myths and folklores are all just variations on the same essential human experience, with the only difference being the particular “accent” each culture puts on the same basic story.

The genius of something like Uncle Boonmee is that Joe is able to bring all these various elements and formulate something fresh and personal that still resonates with other people.

I agree. Ultimately, to me, it is a story about death; the beauty of coping. In the context of the film, the following still says everything:

Cool, thanks to you both for giving me a little taste of what I might look for. Universal themes are easy to understand, but I always look for the framework of each artist. I think on a personal level, it allow you to connect things. The viewer would do this without any footnotes, but I like to try and meet them at least halfway without drawing conclusions based on what I’ve read about the work.

I saw “Tropical Malady”. I loved the 2nd half of the film more than the first half. Will I like “Uncle Boomnee”?

I saw “Tropical Malady”. I loved the 2nd half of the film more than the first half. Will I like “Uncle Boomnee”?

Can’t wait to see it. Crap or not.

The film is terrible. It’s a joke. Apichatpong must know the right people.

Good to see you came back with some profound thoughts to back your statement up. I think it won’t be a huge loss if we just let this thread die.

It’s a parody of a “meditative” film. You’ll see for yourself.

I have actually seen it, and as long as you can’t present us a quote of Apichatpong which confirms that it was intended as a parody of a “meditative” film, I won’t take your statement seriously. You’re not providing any thorough criticism of the film, but rather backbite something which you don’t seem to understand. As I’ve mentioned on the first page I regard the film as flawed, and elaborated on why I do so, and as long as you’re not willing or able to do the same, you shouldn’t start a thread like this.

Troll thread for sure, though some intelligent and generous people have contributed some nice thoughts here. Cause, you know, this movie’s great.

Terrible film, but I did like the Chewbacca.

…I find it insulting a French group like the above is panning and slamming Apichatpong’s new film when the new film of any Haneke, Eastwood and Godard is being met with applause and “awe”…

Cahiers du Cinema:

Best Films of the 2000s

1. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch) 2. Elephant (Gus Van Sant) 3. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul) 4. The Host (Bong Joon-ho) 5. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg) 6. The Secret of the Grain (Abdellatif Kechiche) 7. Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (Wang Bing) 8. War of the Worlds (Steven Spielberg) 9. The New World (Terrence Malick) 10. Ten (Abbas Kiarostami)

2002
1. Choses Secrètes (Jean-Claude Brisseau)
2. Ten (Abbas Kiarostami)
3. Blissfully Yours (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
4. De l’Autre Côté (Chantal Akerman)
5. O Princípio da Incerteza (Manoel de Oliveira)
6. L’Ora di Religione (Marco Bellocchio)
7. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar)
8. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)
9. Spider (David Cronenberg)
10. Gerry (Gus Van Sant)
11. 24 Heures chrono (TV series)

2004
1. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
2. West of the Tracks (Wang Bing)
3. S-21 (Rithy Panh)
4. The Village (M. Night Shyamalan)
5. Shara (Naomi Kawase)
6. Rois et reine (Arnaud Desplechin)
7. The Brown Bunny (Vincent Gallo)
8. Gerry (Gus Van Sant)
9. Café Lumière (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
10. Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino)
11. Saraband (Ingmar Bergman)

2007
1. Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant)
2. Death Proof (Quentin Tarantino)
3. Inland Empire (David Lynch)
4. Still Life (Jia Zhang-ke)
5. La France (Serge Bozon)
6. Zodiac (David Fincher)
7. Les amours d’Astrée et de Céladon (Eric Rohmer)
8. Honor de cavalleria (Albert Serra)
9. Avant que j’oublie (Jacques Nolot)
10. I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone (Tsai Ming-liang)
11. Ne touchez pas la hache (Jacques Rivette)
12. Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

Robert you are talking to the wind.

Indeed.

What the fuck does that mean Peabody? A list is a list but a majority is what counts.