Album Reviews
Movies
Concert Reviews
Movie Resources
Concert Reviews
Book Reviews

Top 10
Resources
Contact Us

The month of great movies continues. This week's installment takes us to Thailand, with the latest film by Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul. Joe actually lived in Chicago for several years and attended the School of the Art Institute, so his films are a fascinating mix of Thai culture and geography filtered through a Western art school approach. That might not make for the most accessible combination, but his work is striking and genuinely rapturous for any viewer patient enough to surrender to his rhythms.

Tropical Malady, his latest effort, is broken up into two stories, though the fact that both feature the same actors is only one of many aspects they share. The first half is a compelling portrait of a friendship turned relationship between two young men. One is a soldier whom we meet in the film's first scene, the other pretends to be a soldier in order to find a job. The languorous first hour builds these two characters by situating them in their environment. We see them going off to work, flirting with each other and others on a bus, playing soccer on a rocky ball field, and trying to drive a stick-shift on a country road. We're also introduced to other friends and family of the two young men. Mixed in with these naturalistic scenes are conversations that revolve around old folk tales.

The theme of folk tales and legends becomes explicit in the movie's second section, which recreates the myth of a shaman who, while trapped in the body of a tiger, plays tricks on travelers and villager. The actor who plays the soldier in the first part is a soldier again, though it's not quite clear if he's supposed to be the same character. He's alone in the jungle when he chances upon the "beast" (played by the other actor). Now instead of being friends and lovers, the two are hunter and prey, though which one is which changes repeatedly.

Moviegoers who spend all their energy trying to figure out what's going on will certainly be disappointed. Joe isn't that concerned with narrative and plot, which are secondary to the film's mood and tone. Much of that mood is found in the contrast between city and jungle. Blissfully Yours, his previous movie, also moved from the city to the jungle, but there the jungle was a place of liberation and relaxation, as the characters had to surrender themselves to the hot sun and cool stream. Because these jungle scenes take place mostly at night, Tropical Malady creates a much different feeling in its audience. The darkness cloaks the characters and the surroundings, so that we're never quite sure what we're looking at (though the cinematography is spectacular). Even more evocative is the brilliant sound design which instills a feeling of hypnotic isolation. And when the audience is finally disoriented enough, Joe brings out the talking animals, in scenes which transcend the story's mythic origins and instead create a blast of pure cinema. The film's use of ethereal special effects (the ghost of a dead cow rises and walks, a tree slowly fills with tiny lights) are especially awe-inspiring.

The film's second half reminded me of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and I found myself reflecting on how Tropical Malady represents the jungle as the "heart of man."  The movie begins with the quotation: "All of us are by our natures wild beasts who must keep our natures in check," which could be a line straight out of Conrad's novella. But the two conceptions are significantly different. Conrad's story sees the jungle river as serpentine but one that inexorably leads to the heart of who we are. Tropical Malady's sense of place has no direction, no way to get in or out; you're just there, waiting for the beast with an ineffective gun in your hand. Furthermore, while the end of Conrad's journey is "the horror," Joe foresees a different encounter--a breathtaking shot of the tiger standing in a tree hovering over the soldier as he kneels on the ground. Enigmatic, yes, but I've been thinking about that image for months.

Tropical Malady opens this Friday at the Landmark Theater. It likely won't play for more than a week, so carve out some time this weekend for a truly unique moviegoing experience. 

J. Robert Parks 8/13/2005