And we're back. This is the Weerasethakul i appreciate. Storytelling that flows like wind and an enigmatic centre that is hard to digest. The contrast of these two makes me testees shrivel time after time. Two stories, unrelated, but connected in essence, in soul, meaning. One a romantic and grounded tale of homosexual love, one a transcendent and mysterious fable excelling on a grander scope, working to add meaning and beauty to what we first thought was simplicity. Weerasethakul likes to add wonder and mystery to the road we take. The titlecards with impressionistic artwork briefly going through the fable one line at a time every so often was great. Weerasethakul is one of few directors who can insert a non-diegetic soundtrack into a serene film and not have it interrupt the flow. Dreamlike tranquility.

Do you hear it?

The first segment still pops for me more than the second, but there's really nothing to complain about here. Weerasethakul has such talent. It isn't so much that he's a great storyteller or a remarkable craftsman. It's more like he's got a great voice, and is surefooted enough to let that be the main thing.

The film that remains Joe's best work by a slim margin, Tropical Malady bifurcates at the mid-way point--as in Syndromes and a Century--to run a fine thematic thread through both of its tantalizing parts. In the film's first half, Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee) keeps Keng (Banlop Lomnoi) at bay with inelegant gestures, not fully committed to his own sexuality, but also not repelled enough by the asymmetrical relationship the two men share. It's the physicality of it that Weerasethakul suggests is inherently deficient, made clear by the latter half's pointed representation of a love supreme; human connection in spiritual terms. Intoxicating as much as it is dumbfounding, this sensual odyssey leads us extemporaneously through the woods-- first as a peaceful, romanticized backdrop for the lovers, then as a tense, mysterious battleground--in search of Weerasethakul's blissful imagery.

O "Tropical Malady" acho que é dos filmes mais fascinantes que já revi, pois nunca se esgota com uma nova visualização e consegue instalar uma atmosfera voyerista que não lhe sei recusar.
Primeiro assistimos à gradual intimidade dos dois "amigos" e numa segunda parte, abraçamos o misticismo exactamente por nos ser contado como sendo algo intimo, pois são memórias e chega a ser algo onírico...
Quantas mais vezes revejo este filme melhor ele me parece.
Estranha-se e depois entranha-se...

Desta vez ascende de 7 para uma melhor classificação:
8/10
Muito Bom!

Ainda assim, e como é um filme que desafia (especialmente a segunda parte), o sempre fascinante Febre Tropical tem uma cena que venero imenso, um sessão de karaoke no mais pimba possível (que faz um constraste admirável num filme tão arty):
Um pouco mais em (e com a referida cena):
armpauloferreira.blogspot.pt/2010/09/cine-cena-febre-tropical-de-apichatpong.html

A meek romance made mystical through a complete reimagining.

"He can smell you from mountains away. And soon, you will feel the same."

This feeling is inevitable, in this life and the next. Give in.

Understated and touching romance suddenly turns into an arthouse mystic version of Predator. The second half reminded me of Life of Pi, with a man's relationship with a tiger stalking him that is much more interesting, ominous and effective than Lee's CGI cheese fest. I dug this film a lot, a tone and feel that is distinctly that of the Weerasathekul, even if it wasn't quite as mesmerising or full of unforgettable images (though there are some) as Uncle Boonmee. Still, a major film from one of the most important directors working today.

After watching this at home a few years ago, I knew I had to experience this in 35mm at some point and I was right, this film deserves full immersion. Let the tiger enter you.

87 out of 100
The formal break and the deadpan mystical what-the-fuckery of the folk tale elements is enough to make this an especially ambitious film, but what makes this a masterpiece is how little I understand what the guiding principle is supposed to be, but how much every little thing ~feels~ exactly right. It's like Joe sends me into a trance and implants his film into my spirit. It doesn't make everything seem entirely explicable, but the them of the animal nature of attraction just gets me at some deep level.

And we're back. This is the Weerasethakul i appreciate. Storytelling that flows like wind and an enigmatic centre that is hard to digest. The contrast of these two makes me testees shrivel time after time. Two stories, unrelated, but connected in essence, in soul, meaning. One a romantic and grounded tale of homosexual love, one a transcendent and mysterious fable excelling on a grander scope, working to add meaning and beauty to what we first thought was simplicity. Weerasethakul likes to add wonder and mystery to the road we take. The titlecards with impressionistic artwork briefly going through the fable one line at a time every so often was great. Weerasethakul is one of few directors who can insert a non-diegetic soundtrack into a serene film and not have it interrupt the flow. Dreamlike tranquility.

Do you hear it?

I don’t know what to make of it. The first part is a simple playful love story, and then exactly half way through, it takes an abrupt turn into something strange and mystical, where even the monkeys have subtitles. It is seriously like David Lynch takes over halfway through.

Strange. But I think I liked it.

The film that remains Joe's best work by a slim margin, Tropical Malady bifurcates at the mid-way point--as in Syndromes and a Century--to run a fine thematic thread through both of its tantalizing parts. In the film's first half, Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee) keeps Keng (Banlop Lomnoi) at bay with inelegant gestures, not fully committed to his own sexuality, but also not repelled enough by the asymmetrical relationship the two men share. It's the physicality of it that Weerasethakul suggests is inherently deficient, made clear by the latter half's pointed representation of a love supreme; human connection in spiritual terms. Intoxicating as much as it is dumbfounding, this sensual odyssey leads us extemporaneously through the woods-- first as a peaceful, romanticized backdrop for the lovers, then as a tense, mysterious battleground--in search of Weerasethakul's blissful imagery.

I like the idea of this more than I liked watching it. And I think my appreciation of the two sections is inversely proportional to how much I enjoyed watching them.

O "Tropical Malady" acho que é dos filmes mais fascinantes que já revi, pois nunca se esgota com uma nova visualização e consegue instalar uma atmosfera voyerista que não lhe sei recusar.
Primeiro assistimos à gradual intimidade dos dois "amigos" e numa segunda parte, abraçamos o misticismo exactamente por nos ser contado como sendo algo intimo, pois são memórias e chega a ser algo onírico...
Quantas mais vezes revejo este filme melhor ele me parece.
Estranha-se e depois entranha-se...

Desta vez ascende de 7 para uma melhor classificação:
8/10
Muito Bom!

Ainda assim, e como é um filme que desafia (especialmente a segunda parte), o sempre fascinante Febre Tropical tem uma cena que venero imenso, um sessão de karaoke no mais pimba possível (que faz um constraste admirável num filme tão arty):
Um pouco mais em (e com a referida cena):
armpauloferreira.blogspot.pt/2010/09/cine-cena-febre-tropical-de-apichatpong.html

"I believe film has to be expressed in a medium that is not theater, a book, a narrative. Just the image. And it should be open."

"I'm trying to present film as memories."

"I want my films to flow together with the audience."

"A filmmaker hypnotizes you through time."

-Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Love this guy. Like a Buddhist Borges, the film chronicles love blossoming and transforming into myth. Wish I could have seen it in a theater.

A meek romance made mystical through a complete reimagining.

"He can smell you from mountains away. And soon, you will feel the same."

This feeling is inevitable, in this life and the next. Give in.