Cemetery of Splendour

Last updated

Cemetery of Splendour
Cemetery of Splendour (poster).jpg
Film poster
รักที่ขอนแก่น
Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Written byApichatpong Weerasethakul
Produced byApichatpong Weerasethakul
Keith Griffiths
Simon Field
Charles de Meaux
Michael Weber
Hans W. Geißendörfer
StarringJenjira Pongpas Widner
Banlop Lomnoi
Jarinpattra Rueangram
CinematographyDiego García
Edited by Lee Chatametikool
Production
companies
Kick the Machine Films
Illuminations Films (Past Lives)
Release date
  • 18 May 2015 (2015-05-18)(Cannes)
Running time
122 minutes
CountryThailand
LanguageThai
Box office$83,250 [1]

Cemetery of Splendour (Thai : Rak Ti Khon Kaen) is a 2015 Thai drama film written, produced, and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The plot revolves around a spreading epidemic of sleeping sickness where spirits appear to the stricken and hallucination becomes indistinguishable from reality. The epidemic is a metaphor for personal and Thai societal issues. [2] The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim. [3] [4]

Contents

Plot

Soldiers with a mysterious sleeping sickness are transferred to a temporary clinic in a former school. The memory-filled space becomes a revelatory world for housewife and volunteer Jen, as she watches over Itt, a handsome soldier with no family visitors. Jen befriends young medium Keng, who uses her psychic powers to help loved ones communicate with the comatose men. Doctors explore ways, including colored light therapy, to ease the men's troubled dreams. Jen discovers Itt's cryptic notebook of strange writings and blueprint sketches. There may be a connection between the soldiers' enigmatic syndrome and a mythic ancient site beneath the clinic. Magic, healing, romance and dreams are all part of Jen's path to a deeper awareness of herself and the world around her.

Cast

Release

Cemetery of Splendour premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section. [3] [4]

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 97% approval rating based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The site's consensus reads, "Cemetery of Splendour gracefully eludes efforts to pin down its meaning while offering patient viewers another gently hypnotic wonder from writer/director Apichatpong Weerasethakul." [5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [6]

Year-end lists

Cemetery of Splendour was ranked 5th in the Sight & Sound 20 best films of 2015, [7] and 2nd in the Cahiers du Cinéma 's 2015 Top Ten chart. [8]

Accolades

List of accolades
Award / Film festivalCategoryRecipient(s)Result
Asia Pacific Screen Awards [9] Best Film Apichatpong Weerasethakul Won
Achievement in DirectingApichatpong WeerasethakulNominated
2015 Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard Award Apichatpong WeerasethakulNominated
2016 International Cinephile Society AwardsICS AwardApichatpong WeerasethakulWon
2015 London Film FestivalBest FilmApichatpong WeerasethakulNominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2015 Best Non-U.S. ReleaseApichatpong WeerasethakulWon
2015 Pancevo Film FestivalLighthouse AwardApichatpong WeerasethakulWon
2015 Catalan International Film Festival Best Motion PictureApichatpong WeerasethakulNominated

Related Research Articles

<i>No Mans Land</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Danis Tanović

No Man's Land is a 2001 war film that is set in the midst of the Bosnian War. The film is a parable and marks the debut of Bosnian writer and director Danis Tanović. It is a co-production among companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Italy, France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. The film first premiered on 19 September 2001 in France. It later won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apichatpong Weerasethakul</span> Thai film director

Apichatpong Weerasethakul is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system, Apichatpong has directed several features and dozens of short films. Friends and fans sometimes refer to him as "Joe".

<i>Blissfully Yours</i> 2002 Thai film

Blissfully Yours is a 2002 Thai romance film directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Tropical Malady</i> 2004 Thai film

Tropical Malady is a 2004 Thai romantic psychological drama art film written and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film has a bifurcated structure; it is separated into two segments – the first is a romance between two men, and the second a mysterious tale about a soldier lost in the woods, bedeviled by the spirit of a shaman.

<i>Syndromes and a Century</i> 2006 Thai film

Syndromes and a Century is a 2006 Thai drama film written and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film was among the works commissioned for Peter Sellars' New Crowned Hope festival in Vienna to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It premiered on August 30, 2006 at the 63rd Venice Film Festival.

<i>The Adventure of Iron Pussy</i> 2003 Thai film

The Adventure of Iron Pussy is a 2003 Thai musical-action comedy film written and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Michael Shaowanasai and starring Shaowanasai. The protagonist is a crossdressing Thai secret agent whose alter ego is a gay male convenience clerk. A homage and parody of the 1970s Thai action films, musicals and melodramas, particularly those that starred Mitr Chaibancha and Petchara Chaowarat, the movie premiered at the 2003 Tokyo International Film Festival and has also played at the Berlin Film Festival, the International Film Festival Rotterdam and other festivals. It is a cult film and has screened at several gay and lesbian film festivals as well.

<i>Mysterious Object at Noon</i> 2000 Thai film

Mysterious Object at Noon is a 2000 Thai experimental documentary film directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul in his feature directorial debut.

Lee Chatametikool is a Thai film editor and sound editor. He is a frequent collaborator with Apichatpong Weerasethakul and other Thai independent directors, but has also worked on commercial films, including the hit Thai horror film, Shutter.

Siriyakorn "Oom" Pukkavesa is a Thai actress, model, presenter, designer and magazine publisher. She is best known by her nickname, Oom (อุ้ม).

<i>Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives</i> 2010 film

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a 2010 Thai drama film written, produced, and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film, which explores themes of reincarnation, centers on the last days in the life of its title character, who is played by Thanapat Saisaymar. Together with his loved ones—including the spirit of his dead wife, Huay, and his lost son, Boonsong, who has returned in a non-human form—Boonmee explores his past lives as he contemplates the reasons for his illness.

<i>Mekong Hotel</i> 2012 film

Mekong Hotel is a 2012 Thai film directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film was screened in the Special Screenings section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Sleeping Giant</i> (film) 2015 film

Sleeping Giant is a 2015 Canadian drama film written and directed by Andrew Cividino. The film follows three teenage boys coping with boredom in cottage country on the shores of Lake Superior.

<i>Hitchcock/Truffaut</i> (film) 2015 film

Hitchcock/Truffaut is a 2015 French-American documentary film directed by Kent Jones.

<i>A Prayer Before Dawn</i> (film) 2017 film

A Prayer Before Dawn is a 2017 biographical prison drama film directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire and written by Jonathan Hirschbein and Nick Saltrese. The film stars Joe Cole and is based on the book A Prayer Before Dawn: My Nightmare in Thailand's Prisons by Billy Moore.

Sayombhu Mukdeeprom is a Thai cinematographer, best known for his work on the films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Luca Guadagnino. Mukdeeprom has earned international acclaim for his photography on films such as the 2010 Cannes Film Festival winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and the 2017 Academy Award nominee Call Me by Your Name

<i>Ten Years Thailand</i> 2018 film

Ten Years Thailand is a 2018 Thai independent dystopian anthology film written and directed by Aditya Assarat, Wisit Sasanatieng, Chulayarnon Siriphol and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Based in format on the 2015 Hong Kong film Ten Years, its four segments each offers the director's speculative take on a dystopian Thailand in 2028. The film was shown in the special screenings section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. A fifth segment, by Chookiat Sakveerakul, was not completed in time for the Cannes screening.

<i>Memoria</i> (2021 film) 2021 film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Memoria is a 2021 fantasy drama mystery film written, directed and co-produced by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, starring Tilda Swinton, Elkin Díaz, Jeanne Balibar, Juan Pablo Urrego and Daniel Giménez Cacho.

<i>Aheds Knee</i> 2021 film by Nadav Lapid

Ahed's Knee is a 2021 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Nadav Lapid. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, the film shared the Jury Prize with Memoria by Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

<i>The Year of the Everlasting Storm</i> 2021 film

The Year of the Everlasting Storm is a 2021 American anthology film featuring segments directed by Jafar Panahi, Anthony Chen, Malik Vitthal, Laura Poitras, Dominga Sotomayor, David Lowery and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

<i>Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell</i> 2023 film

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is a 2023 Vietnamese-language drama film written and directed by Phạm Thiên Ân, in his feature directorial debut. It is a co-production between Vietnam, Singapore, France and Spain.

References

  1. "Cemetery of Splendour". The Numbers . Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  2. Justin Chang. "'Cemetery of Splendor' Review: Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Latest Enigma - Variety". Variety. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Complement to the Official Selection". Cannes Film Festival. 23 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Screenings Guide". Festival de Cannes. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  5. "Cemetery of Splendor". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  6. "Cemetery of Splendor". Metacritic . CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. "The 20 best films of 2015". British Film Institute. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  8. "Top Ten 2015, Décembre 2015 n°717". cahiersducinema.net. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  9. Patrick Frater. "'Cemetery of Splendour' Wins Asia Pacific Screen Awards Trophy". Variety . Retrieved 25 October 2018.