BLANKET (2008, Tossapol Boonsinsukh, second viewing, A+++++)

This short film is a part of the feature film UNDER THE BLANKET. It contains one long static shot of a girl trying to draw two lines on a paper, then she erases them, and trying to draw them and erasing them again and again. This long static shot lasts almost 9 minutes, and we never see the face of the girl in this shot. We only see her from the neck down.





The scene in BLANKET (2008, Tossapol Boonsinsukh, A+++++) in the picture below seems to correspond to an empty parking lot scene in NICE TO MEET YOU (2005, Tossapol Boonsinsukh). In this scene in BLANKET, we hear a voiceover of a man, saying, "Monday. Begining on Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday. Thursday. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. Then returning to Monday."

NICE TO MEET YOU (2005, Tossapol Boonsinsukh, 25:28 min, second viewing, A+++++++++++++++)

There are many long static takes in this film, including the scene in the last picture, which lasts 5:50 min. We watch and listen to the protagonist's guitar-playing. His song is about a promise to remember. It's one of very few long static takes in Thai cinema at that time.

However, my most favorite scenes in the film are two scenes of extreme long shot. In the first one, which lasts about two and a half minutes, we see the protagonist (Patavee Viranuvat) sits in the middle of an empty parking lot, reading some incomprehensible things. To watch a character from afar reading some incomprehensible things for two and a half minutes is not something easily found in Thai cinema. The second scene that I like very much is the scene in which the protagonist plays with his female friend in the parking lot. They play rock-paper-scissors game. The loser must jump and clap his hands in the air. This scene is extremely cute and memorable, partly because it is in extreme long shot.

THIRDWORLD (1997, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q-umm6nbLs

I just knew that this film inspired Panu Aree to make ONCE UPON A TIME (2000).

Other interesting films in Youtube:

O.B.L. (2011, Panu Aree + Kong Rithdee + Kaweenipon Ketprasit, documentary, A+)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnU4Op84_Mc

DAD'S PICTURE (2010, Uruphong Raksasad + Naowares Chaonampad + Kriengsak Wittayaaniwart, A+/A)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qreeQxYBRB0

FAR WEST (2012, Jimmy Hendrickx, A+)

For those who like the landscapes in cowboy films
http://vimeo.com/33373019

Most favorite films I saw in Bangkok Experimental Film Festival 6 in 2012

This list is inspired by Wiwat Lertwiwatwongsa's list:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150575745996390

1.COMING ATTRACTIONS (2010, Peter Tscherkassky, Austria, A+30)

2.MADANG BO SAI (1999, Paisit Punpruksachat, A+30)

3.EXPLORER (1968, Pramod Pati, India, A+30)

4.PULSATION (2011, Pieter Geenen, Belgium/Cyprus, A+30)

5.LIFE CONTINUED (1966, Zhuang Ling, Taiwan, A+30)

6.FILM FROM LAMPANG (around 1971, Anonymous, A+30)

7.Found footage of Lucy Mills (around 1930, New Zealand, documentary, A+30)

8.BERNADETTE (2008, Duncan Campbell, A+30)

9.ROGHIEH (2009, Alysse Stepanian, Iran, A+30)

10.THE GARDEN (2010, Ann Steuernagel, USA, A+30)

11.PRAXIS-8 (2010, Dietmar Brehm, A+30)

12.UNTITLED ROAD MOVIE (around 1970's, Winai Euarchukiate, documentary, A+30)

13.STAR (ALTERNATIVE VERSION) (2011, Choi Sai Ho, Hong Kong, A+30)

14.HOME WORK (1966, Ho Fan, Hong Kong, A+15)

15.WORLD WITHOUT END (1953, Paul Rotha + Basil Wright, UK/Thailand/Mexico, documentary, A+15)

16.MAKE IT NEW JOHN (2009, Duncan Campbell, UK, A+15)

17.CONFERENCE (2011, Norbert Pfaffenbichler, Austria, A+15)

18.BEGGAR (1977, Law Kar, Hong Kong, A+15)

19.THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF KNOWING (2011, Tan Pin Pin, Singapore, A+15)

20.TWO CORONATIONS (2011, Stephen Connolly, UK, A+15)

21.MOROLOJA (2008, Manuela Barile. Portugal, A+15)

22.THE CITY AND THE OTHER (2010, Albert Merino, Spain, A+15)

23.HOW TO CLEAN A PUDDLE (2008, Roland Wegerer, Austria, A+15)

24.MORNING (2010, Kok Siew Wai, Malaysia, A+15)

25.SOMETHING ABOUT FIVE PEOPLE (1973, Lau Fung Kut, Hong Kong, A+10)

26.GHOSTS IN THE CLASSROOM (2011, Ukrit Sa-nguanhai, A+10)

27.UNTITLED#1, FROM THE SERIES 'EIGHT MEN LIVED IN THE ROOM' (2010, Hyewon Kwon, South Korea, A+10)

28.200,000 PHANTOMS (2008, Jean-Gabriel Périot, France, A+10)

29.SUTADI AIN'T HERE ANYMORE (2010, Marthen Luther Sesa, Indonesia, A+10)

30.OCEANO NOX (2011, Georg Wasner, Austria, A+10)

31.ENDEAVOUR (2010, Johan Lurf, Austria, A+10)

32.SPACES (2010, Signe Chiper-Lillemark, Denmark, A+10)

33.THE 7TH OF NOVEMBER (2009, Yuriy Kruchak + Yulia Kostereva, Ukraine, A+10)

34.WITHOUT WINDOWS (2009, Mohammed Harb, Palestine, A+10)

35.FOOTAGE FROM COLONEL HODGKINSON COLLECTION (1945-1947, Thailand/Burma, A+10)

36.CATWALK (Amarin Pajonyuth, A+10)

37.PERHAPS (2006, Kok Kai Foong, Malaysia, A+10)

38.AN ESCALATOR IN WORLD ORDER (2011, Kim Kyung-man, South Korea, documentary, A+5)

39.HARD RAILS ACROSS A GENTLE RIVER (2011, Tran Tranh Hien + Pham Thu Hang + Do Van Hoang + Tran Thi Phuong, Vietnam, documentary, A+5)

40.CHRONICLE OF A TAPE RECORDED OVER (2011, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Vietnam, documentary, A+5)

41.A SOLDIER'S SONG SAMPLE EXPERIMENT (2011, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Vietnam, A+5)

42.HOLD STILL (2009, Rachel Shearer, New Zealand, A+5)

43.SPACE DRAWING NO.5 (2009, Sai Hua Kuan, Singapore, A+5)

44. 2:48 MINUTES WITH THE DOOR (2009, Andres Jurado, Colombia, A+5)

45.LUNAR ECLIPSE (Boonserm Punnahitanonda, documentary, A+5)

46.WHITENESS IN DARKNESS (2012, Koji Tambata, Japan/Thailand, A+5)

There are also a lot of other films which I like very much in this festival, but I haven't included them here, because I like them a little bit less than the 46 films above.

Films seen on Sunday, February 5, 2012

1.EXPLORER (1968, Pramod Pati, India, A+30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asQ9TgvEKvI

2.STAR (ALTERNATIVE VERSION) (2011, Choi Sai Ho, Hong Kong, A+30)
A part of the film can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6tShDKwSSw
http://www.st-saiho.com/

3.HOME WORK (1966, Ho Fan, Hong Kong, A+15)

4.BEGGAR (1977, Law Kar, Hong Kong, A+15)

5.MORNING (2010, Kok Siew Wai, Malaysia, A+15)

6.SOMETHING ABOUT FIVE PEOPLE (1973, Lau Fung Kut, Hong Kong, A+10)

7.PERHAPS (2006, Kok Kai Foong, Malaysia, A+10)

8.WHITENESS IN DARKNESS (2012, Koji Tambata, Japan/Thailand, A+5)

9.RIOT IN HONG KONG (1974, Hou Man Wan, Hong Kong, A+)

10.AND I MAKE SHORT FILMS (1968, S.N.S. Sastry, India, A+)

11.CLAXPLOSION (1970, Pramod Pati, India, A+)

12.ABID (1972, Pramod Pati, India, A+)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7nKVTZ3uuA&feature=related

13.VLADIMIR KEMPSKY'S FILM (2010, Ichiro Sueoka, Japan, A+)

14.SUKIHARTI HALIM (2008, Ariani Darmawan, Indonesia, A+)

15.ARS COLONIA (2011, Raya Martin, Philippines, A+)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCudtngAqxw

16.FADE IN: EXT. STORAGE-CU CHI-DAY (2010, The Propeller Group, Vietnam, A+)

17.CHILD ON CHESS BOARD (1979, Vijay B Chandra, India, A+)

18.FLOW (2011, Chew Win Chen, Malaysia, A+)

19.MAKING OF TOKYO (2011, Yousuke Sano, Japan, A+)

20.ROUTINE (1970, Law Kar, Hong Kong, A+)

21.THE TRIP (1970, Pramod Pati, India, A+)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZatZD4KeLis

22.DEMONSTRATE (197?, Lau Fung Kut, Hong Kong, A+)

23.THE BUTTERFLY (2004, Chan Seahuvi, Malaysia, A+)

24.WHEN THE TIME WITHOUT MY MEMORIES (2010, Alison Khor, Malaysia, A+)

25.iso (2011, Katsuyuki Hattori, Japan, A+)

26.PASSING II (2009, Au Sow Yee, Malaysia, A+)

27.SKY DON'T FALL (2011, Akiko Nakamura, Japan, A+/A)

28.THE GREEDY WHISPER (2011, Kanokporn Maleesriprasert, A+/A)


The photo comes from THE TRIP.

Films seen on Saturday, 4 February, 2012

1.FILM FROM LAMPANG (around 1971, Anonymous, A+30)

2.UNTITLED ROAD MOVIE (around 1970's, Winai Euarchukiate, documentary, A+30)

3.WORLD WITHOUT END (1953, Paul Rotha + Basil Wright, UK/Thailand/Mexico, documentary, A+15)

4.FOOTAGE FROM COLONEL HODGKINSON COLLECTION (1945-1947, Thailand/Burma, A+10)

5.CATWALK (Amarin Pajonyuth, A+10)

6.LUNAR ECLIPSE (Boonserm Punnahitanonda, documentary, A+5)

7.ROUTE 3 (2011, David Kelley + Patty Chang, Laos, A+)

8.LETTER TO SRI MOH (2011, Santiphap Inkong-ngam, A+)

9.SPRING AND FESTIVALS (1953/1954, Nguyen Van Vinh, Vietnam, documentary, A+)

10.KIDS (Amarin Pajonyuth, documentary, A+)

11.FILMS SHOT BY J C Lamster (around 1912, Indonesia, documentary, A+)

12.CITY LIGHTS (Nij Hinchiranan, A+)

13.SAHAPANICH SIGNBOARD OPENING CEREMONY (Winai Euarchukiate, documentary, A+)

14.WATERFALL, ENTERTAINMENT (Nij Hinchiranan, documentary, A+)

Austrian Fillms seen on Thursday, February 2, 2011

1.COMING ATTRACTIONS (2010, Peter Tscherkassky, A+30)

2.PRAXIS-8 (2010, Dietmar Brehm, A+30)

3.CONFERENCE (2011, Norbert Pfaffenbichler, A+15)

4.OCEANO NOX (2011, Georg Wasner, A+10)

5.ENDEAVOUR (2010, Johan Lurf, A+10)

6.TRANQUILITY (2010, Siegfried Fruhauf, A+)

Films seen on Wednesday, February 1, 2012

1.ROGHIEH (2009, Alysse Stepanian, Iran, A+30)
You can watch this film here:
http://vimeo.com/5614187

2.GARDEN (2010, Ann Steuernagel, USA, A+30)
You can watch the film here:
http://vimeo.com/20218252

3.MOROLOJA (2008, Manuela Barile. Portugal, A+15)

4.THE CITY AND THE OTHER (2010, Albert Merino, Spain, A+15)

5.HOW TO CLEAN A PUDDLE (2008, Roland Wegerer, Austria, A+15)
http://www.rolandwegerer.com/

6.200,000 PHANTOMS (2008, Jean-Gabriel Périot, France, A+10)
You can watch this film here:
http://vimeo.com/11457021

7.SPACES (2010, Signe Chiper-Lillemark, Denmark, A+10)
I think this film should be screened together with BERLIN (10 NOV 1974 - 28 JAN 1975) EXERCISES IN NINE PARTS: DREAMING UNDER WATER OF THINGS AFAR (1974-1975, Rebecca Horn)

8.THE 7TH OF NOVEMBER (2009, Yuriy Kruchak + Yulia Kostereva, Ukraine, A+10)

9.WITHOUT WINDOWS (2009, Mohammed Harb, Palestine, A+10)

10.SPACE DRAWING NO.5 (2009, Sai Hua Kuan, Singapore, A+5)
You can see another film of Sai Hua Kuan here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df2vMQpx6nE

11.2:48 MINUTES WITH THE DOOR (2009, Andres Jurado, Colombia, A+5)

12.WINTER'S END (2010, Wrik Mead, Canada, A+)

13.NOLI ME TANGERE (2008, Marsha Yozefpolsky, Israel, A+)

14.BLACK HOLE (2009, Johanna Reich, Germany, A+)
You can watch the film here:
http://www.johannareich.com/english/black-hole

15.NOT WITHOUT A BANG (2008, Alessandro Amaducci, Italy, A+/A)

16.142-143 (2010, Pablo Fernandez-Pujol, Spain, animation, A+/A)

Films seen on Monday, January 30, 2012

1.BERNADETTE (2008, Duncan Campbell, A+30)
I just watched BLOODY SUNDAY (2001, Paul Greengrass, A+30) last year, so watching BERNADETTE helps me see the broader picture of the Northern Ireland conflict. I also like the last part of the film very much, though I don't know what the voiceover is saying in the last part. The coupling of the voiceover which seems to speak in a stream-of-consciousness way with the image of a white screen with brief glimpses of something else from time to time reminds of the sublime feelings I get from the coupling of voiceover-images in Marguerite Duras' films.


2.TWO CORONATIONS (2011, Stephen Connolly, UK, A+15)
This film seems like a perfect antidote to THE KING'S SPEECH (2010, Tom Hooper), THE QUEEN (2006, Stephen Frears), and W.E. (2011, Madonna). Hahaha

Films seen on Sunday, January 29, 2012

1.PULSATION (2011, Pieter Geenen, Belgium/Cyprus, A+30)
You can watch this film here:
http://vimeo.com/31168927

The act of watching something relentlessly for a long time in this film reminds me a little bit of RUHR (2009, James Benning, A+30). Another reason why I like this film very much is because it shows the national symbol as a symbol of oppression. Some people in some countries may hate some national symbols very much, but these powerless ordinary people can do nothing against these national symbols, except turning their eyes away from the symbols.

2.LIFE CONTINUED (1966, Zhuang Ling, Taiwan, A+30)

3.Found footage of Lucy Mills (around 1930, New Zealand, documentary, A+30)
I like this found footage very much, because it seems to depict a happy lesbian relationship 80 years ago.

4.MAKE IT NEW JOHN (2009, Duncan Campbell, UK, A+15)

5.THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF KNOWING (2011, Tan Pin Pin, Singapore, A+15)
The impossibility of knowing the real motive of a suicide in this film reminds me of the film GILLES' WIFE (2004, Frédéric Fonteyne, A+15) and UNINVITED (2003,Lee Soo-yeon, A+30).

6.UNTITLED#1, FROM THE SERIES 'EIGHT MEN LIVED IN THE ROOM' (2010, Hyewon Kwon, South Korea, A+10)

7.SUTADI AIN'T HERE ANYMORE (2010, Marthen Luther Sesa, Indonesia, A+10)

8.HOLD STILL (2009, Rachel Shearer, New Zealand, A+5)

9.COMS DEVICE (2011, Nadav Assor, Israel, A+)

10.SACK BARROW (2011, Ben Rivers, UK, A+)

11.THE BIG PICTURE องค์ประกอบของเวลา: ในโลกไทยทัศนา (2011, Suporn Shoosongdej, A+)

12.BLUR LUMINOUS (2011, Taweewit Kijtanasoonthorn, A+)

13.PROGRESS IN TAIWAN (1960, Taiwanese Government, A+)

14.LAY CLAIM TO AN ISLAND (2009, Chris Kennedy, Canada, A+)

15.RE-BANHO (2011, Tales Frey, Portugal, A+)

16.724 14TH ST (2010, Ching Yi Tseng, Taiwan/USA, A+)

17.MY NEWBORN BABY (1967, Zhuang Ling, Taiwan, A+/A)

18.6TH BIRTHDAY AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU 1962 (1962, Charles Ong Cheng Yam, Singapore, documentary, A+/A)

19.VINCENT'S 8TH BIRTHDAY (1965, Charles Ong Cheng Yam, Singapore, documentary, A+/A)

20.BIRTHDAYS 1965 AND 1967 (1965+1967, Charles Ong Cheng Yam, Singapore, documentary, A+/A)

21.OZ@1950 (2010, Dirk De Brwyn, Netherlands, A)

22.PHI (2011, Jessica Mautner, UK, A)

FILM WISH LIST: NIGHTFALL (2011, James Benning, USA, 98 min)

In one take only, it shows a wood as day becomes night.

“Nightfall is a study of real-time light changing from day to night. It was filmed in a forest high up in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.” (Benning).

I want to screen this film together with PERU TIME (2008, Chaloemkiat Saeyong, 18 min).

PULSATION (2011, Pieter Geenen, Belgium/Cyprus, A+30)

http://vimeo.com/31168927

Films seen on Saturday, January 28, 2012

1.MADANG BO SAI (1999, Paisit Punpruksachat, A+30)

2.AN ESCALATOR IN WORLD ORDER (2011, Kim Kyung-man, South Korea, documentary, A+5)

3.HARD RAILS ACROSS A GENTLE RIVER (2011, Tran Tranh Hien + Pham Thu Hang + Do Van Hoang + Tran Thi Phuong, Vietnam, documentary, A+5)

4.CHRONICLE OF A TAPE RECORDED OVER (2011, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Vietnam, documentary, A+5)

5.A SOLDIER'S SONG SAMPLE EXPERIMENT (2011, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Vietnam, A+5)

6.GHOSTS IN THE CLASSROOM (2011, Ukrit Sa-nguanhai, A+5)

7.CHULAYARNNON (2008, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, A+)

8.BORING BLINKER (1985, Surabongse Binichkhah, A+)

9.NANG SOD (1985, Dome Sukawong, A+)

10.CUTTER, TRIMMER AND CHAINSAW (2011, Pathompon Tesprateep, A+)

COMING ATTRACTIONS (2010, Peter Tscherkassky, A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++)

I just saw COMING ATTRACTIONS (2010, Peter Tscherkassky, A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++) on Thursday at Bangkok Experimental Film Festival. It is now one of my most favorite films of all time. I like the faces and gestures of women in this film very much. หน้าตาผู้หญิงแต่ละคนในหนังเรื่องนี้มันช่าง "กะหล่ำแตกแดกดัน" มากๆ

FAVOURITE THAI EXPERIMENTAL FILMS OF 2011

A friend asked me about some recent Thai experimental films, so here is my answer to him:

1.NAKORN ASAJARN TRILOGY: COLLAPSE (2011, Wachara Kanha, 26 min)
NAKORN ASAJARN TRILOGY: MIGHT (2011, Wachara Kanha, 30 min)
NAKORN ASAJARN TRILOGY: NIGHTMARE (2011, Wachara Kanha, 30 min)
This trilogy is composed of many scenes of Bangkok. An extremely atmospheric film. The second part of the trilogy features a 30-minute monologue of a lawyer talking about the injustice from which the red shirt protesters in Thailand suffer.

2.WHY DO YOU JUMP? (2011, Korn Kanogkekarin, 19 min)
A queer film featuring strange scenes which are seemingly unconnected to one another. It includes a scene of Korn nakedly dancing in his room, a scene of Korn throwing his hair into the air repeatedly for approximately 30 times, and a digitally-effected scene of Korn's body divided in half, which makes him look like a statue of a pagan goddess.

3.GAZE AND HEAR (2010, Nontawat Numbenchapol, 10 min)
I wrote about this film here:
http://celinejulie.blogspot.com/2011/11/thai-films-seen-on-saturday-july-30.html


4.EMPLOYEES LEAVING THE LUMIÈRE FACTORY (2010, Chaloemkiat Saeyong, 31 min)
I wrote about this film here:
http://celinejulie.blogspot.com/2011/04/chaloemkiat-saeyongs-retrospective-this.html


5.HOME COMPUTER (2011, Teeranit Siangsanoh, 19 min)
This film is composed of various still images and sound found in a computer. What I like the most in this film is how the various sound and noises are combined, and it results in one of the strangest soundtracks I have ever heard of in my whole life. I also like the scene in which we see the images of Khattiya Sawasdipol, while we hear the song CIVILIZATION ZONE by Thanes Warakulnukroh. It is arguably one of best ironic scenes of the year 2011.

6.THE FESTIVAL OF DEMON SPIRIT (2011, Sittiporn Racha, 2 min)
I wrote about this film here:
http://celinejulie.blogspot.com/2011/01/festival-of-demon-spirit-2011-sittiporn.html


7.RATCHAPRASONG (2011, Nok Paksnavin)
The film is about the massacre of the red shirt protesters in Bangkok in May 19, 2010, and it deals with this tragedy by showing us some enigmatic scenes, and then it shows us a black screen, while we hear the very loud sound of gunshots for about 90-100 times.

8.PASSING THROUGH THE NIGHT (2011, Wattanapume Laisuwanchai, 13 min)
I think this film should be screened together with THE LONG DAY CLOSES (1992, Terence Davies), because both films deal with the memories of the directors about their own families, and both films present these memories in an extremely poetic and beautiful way.

9.IMPERIAL EARTHS (2011, Phatthi Buntuwanit, 15 min)
One of the most visually gorgeous Thai film made in 2011. The film reinterprets some parts of Buddhist teachings/legends. The content of the film is not as interesting as its visual elements. The production designs/set decorations in this film is as beautiful and powerful as the ones in EDEN AND AFTER (1970, Alain Robbe-Grillet) or PROSPERO'S BOOKS (1991, Peter Greenaway).

10.SPIDER (2011, Tossapol Boonsinsukh)
A woman is having trouble with some mysterious water leaking out of the wall of her house. A plumber can't help her because he doesn't know where this water comes from. The first part of this film reminds me of some cute feelings found in Miranda July's films. However, the second half of SPIDER reminds me of Marguerite Duras' films, because we see some characters, whom we are not sure if they represent humans, or animals, or both, or whatever, circle around one another in a townhouse in an extremely slow manner.

The photo is from NAKORN ASAJARN TRILOGY: NIGHTMARE.

LOVERS AND ENEMIES (2010, Dilmana Yordanova + Mihaela Kavdanska, Romania, A+++++++++++++++)

http://vimeo.com/24771309

This is one of my most favorite films of the year.

GHOST ORB (2011, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, exhibition)

PLANKING (2011, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, A+++++++++++++++)

JELE-BEAUTIE (2011, Chulayarnnon Siriphol, A+++++)