KRASUESAO WAS SHOWN WHILE I WAS BORN

I just visited the exhibition PROXY (2011, Proxy, curated by Josef Ng, A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++) at WTF Gallery and learned from this exhibition that the film which was shown in Thailand around the time I was born (February 1973) is the horror film KRASUESAO (1973, S. Naowarach). I think it is very appropriate that this film was shown while I was born.
http://wtfbangkok.com/index.php/2011/11/19/proxy/

Talking about my birthday, I also noticed that Philipp Rösler, the economy minister of Germany, was born in Vietnam in February 24, 1973, or just two days before me. His life seems like a total success, while mine is not. Hahaha.

MY SUNDAY EVENING

I SAW A SUICIDE ON SATURDAY

In the morning of October 15, I decided to go to see the exhibition VILLAGE AND ELSEWHERE (2011, Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, A+++++) at 100 Tonson Gallery.
http://www.100tonsongallery.com/

So I got off the skytrain at Ploenchit Station at a few minutes after 12.00hrs, then I noticed that several people gathered around the bridge railing. So I looked down from the bridge and saw a man lying in the street below. A woman told me that the man jumped off from the bridge. I took a photo of the event and then went to see the exhibition.

I learned from the news later that the man is dead. May he rest in peace.
http://news.sanook.com/1063550/%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B8%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%94-%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%94BTS%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A/

MY LIFE AS A CINEPHILE

Below is what I copied from a letter to my new friend, who asked some questions about my life as a cinephile:



As for your list of favorite filmmakers, this is what I think about them:



1.Ozu: I have seen only four films of his and have some personal problems with them, because Ozu seems to portray "family members who like one another". .. my personal life prevents me from "feeling connected" to his films.



However, among the four films I saw, I like EARLY SPRING (1956) very much, because this film doesn't deal with the bond between parents and children.



2.Antonioni: I like him very much, especially THE ECLIPSE. I like how he deals with landscape and the emptiness inside the characters' souls.



3. Bergman: I like him very much. My most favorite of his is THE SILENCE.



4.Buñuel: I like him very much, too. My most favorites of his are BELLE DE JOUR, THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE, and THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY.



5.Almodovar. I like him a lot, but I'm not very crazy about him now, because my most favorite of his is PEPI, LUCI, BOM (1980).



6.Hiroshi Teshigahara: I have seen only WOMAN IN THE DUNES. I like it a lot, though if I were the hero in this film, I would kill the woman and myself instead of continue living in the dunes.



7.Masaki Kobayashi: I have seen only KWAIDAN (1964) and HARAKIRI (1962). I like them a lot.



8.Vittorio De Sica: I haven't seen any of his directorial works yet.



9.Jean-Pierre Melville: I like his films a lot, especially UN FLIC (1972).



10. Jean-Luc Godard: I worship him, though I don't always agree with everything he says. I find his films extremely fascinating. My most favorite of his is LA CHINOISE. I wrote about this film here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061473/reviews?start=2



11.François Truffaut: I don't feel connected to some of his films, but my most favorite of his is TWO ENGLISH GIRLS (1971).



12.Milos Forman: I have seen only 6 films of his. I think his films are good. I give A+ to almost most of them, but they don't excite me personally. As for his early films, I have seen only BLACK PETER (1964).



13.Bernardo Bertolucci: I have seen only 8 films of his. I think of him like Milos Forman. He makes great films that don't excite me personally. Maybe my most favorite of his is THE GRIM REAPER (1962), because it is very Pasolini-esque.



14. Eric Rohmer: One of my most favorite directors of all time. THE GREEN RAY makes me cry a bucketful of tears.



15.Robert Bresson: One of my most favorite directors of all time.



16.Victor Erice: I worship THE QUINCE TREE SUN (1992), but I don't feel personally connected to THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (1973).



17.Akira Kurosawa: I think his films are great, but they don't excite me personally. I think I have seen only 13 of his films. My most favorite is IKIRU (1952).



18. Ang Lee: I like some of his films very much. My most favorite is, of course, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.



19.Zhang Yimou: My most favorite of his is NOT ONE LESS (1999).





As for myself:



1.I think I came to love films because I like handsome actors. When I was about 13 years old, I became so crazy for Tom Cruise that I decided to go to see a film in a theatre by myself for the first time. The first film that I saw alone is THE COLOR OF MONEY (1986, Martin Scorsese, A++++++++++). I like it very much. So I went to see many Hollywood films after that.



2.I enjoyed seeing Hollywood films and mainstream films for many years, then in early 1995, I watched THE GARDEN (1990, Derek Jarman), and it blew me away. It made me realize that non-mainstream films like this can give me such an intense pleasure.



3.My life changed completely in late 1995 when I decided to go to see a film at the Goethe Institute in Bangkok for the first time. The film shown there is CLASS ENEMY (1983, Peter Stein, West Germany, A+++++++++++++++). I worship it. It also made me realize that there are many great films in the world which are not famous. I had read film magazines since 1987, but from 1987 to early 1995 these film magazines had never mentioned that there's such a great film as CLASS ENEMY exists in this world. So I realized that from then on I should explore the world of film by myself, instead of relying on the famous quality of the films.



4.After seeing CLASS ENEMY, I think I have become a cinephile. I went to see many films at Alliance Française, Goethe Institute, and Duangkamol Filmhouse (a Thai cinematheque) in late 1990's and early 2000's. I have also seen many films in various film festivals in Bangkok until now.





As for my favorite filmmakers, they include:

(In alphabetical order)



1.Alexander Kluge



2.Apichatpong Weerasethakul



3.Bruce Baillie



4.Chaloemkiat Saeyong



5.Derek Jarman



6.Eric Rohmer



7.Herbert Achternbusch



8.Jacques Rivette



9.Jun Ichikawa



10.Lav Diaz





As for my favorite films, I have made a list of 100 of them here:

http://beyondthecanon.blogspot.com/2009/09/jit-phokaew.html





I haven't directed any films yet, but I have produced 11 films directed by Wachara Kanha. If you want to know the details, you can read it here:

http://celinejulie.blogspot.com/2011/06/films-produced-by-cinephile.html

30 DAY CINEPHILE CHALLENGE: DAY 27

http://www.facebook.com/pages/30-Day-Cinephile-Challenge/184987868220596



Day 27: A filmmaker you would like to work with: Fred Kelemen. I think his films are great, and he is a very nice person. I once was his interpreter when he gave some interviews in his retrospective in Bangkok in 2007. This is a clip of me and him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jh4TL_sGOQ

30 DAY CINEPHILE CHALLENGE: DAY 23

http://www.facebook.com/pages/30-Day-Cinephile-Challenge/184987868220596?ref=ts



Day 23: A film, short or clip of your own making, if you don’t have one, your favorite film or short clip from someone close to you – I haven’t directed any films, but I have produced 11 films, mostly short ones, directed by Wachara Kanha. These eleven films include INVADER (2011), which is 90 minute long. I like it very much.

I WENT TO THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE OF JACQUES RIVETTE

I noticed this morning that I had a suspicious red spot in the lower eyelid of my right eye. So I went to a hospital this afternoon. The doctor told me that one possible cause of this red spot is that I might have blinked my eyes too few times. This made my eyes become too dry, so my eyes could be irritated or infected easily, and the red spot was developed because of that. The doctor gave me some eyedrops and said that the red spot would fade within a week.

I think it is highly likely that I might have blinked my eyes too few times like the doctor said. Why did I blink my eyes too few times? It is because I saw OUT 1: NOLI ME TANGERE (1972, Jacques Rivette, 12 hours 40 minutes, A+++++++++++++++) on Saturday and Sunday. Rivette's film is too riveting that I couldn't take my eyes from the screen. :-)

MY THREE CINEMATIC REGRETS

This is from a conversation with a Facebook friend:

--ถ้าเต้อยู่ไปสักพัก และเริ่มคุ้นชินว่าแต่ละทางเลือกมีข้อดีข้อเสียอะไรบ้าง และลำดับความชอบของตัวเองเป็นอย่างไรกันแน่ เต้ก็จะตัดสินใจเลือกได้ง่ายขึ้นจ้ะ ส่วนของตัวพี่เองนั้น จัดลำดับทางเลือกของตัวเองไว้คร่าวๆในตอนนี้ดังต่อไปนี้

1.ละครเวทีโรงเล็ก เพราะมันมีสิทธิ์หาโอกาสดูในอนาคตได้ยากที่สุด

2.video installation เพราะมันเป็นสิ่งที่ไม่สามารถดูได้ทาง DVD แต่เวลาในการจัดแสดงมักจะนานกว่าละครเวที ก็เลยจัดให้มันอยู่อันดับสอง

3.หนังและละครโทรทัศน์ฝรั่งเศสที่มันฉายทางช่อง TV5 MONDE ASIE เพราะหนังและละครเหล่านี้มักหาดูแบบมีซับไตเติลภาษาอังกฤษทาง DVD ไม่ได้

4.หนังนอกกระแส

5.หนังฉายโรงปกติที่มีแนวโน้มฉายแค่สัปดาห์เดียว

6.หนังฮอลลีวู้ด

7.สรุปว่าพี่ก็เลยไม่เหลือเวลาเอาไว้อ่านหนังสืออีกต่อไป เพราะหมดเวลาไปกับ 6 ข้อข้างต้นจนหมด

ถ้าหากเราเลือกผิด เราก็อาจจะเสียใจไปอีกนานก็ได้นะ เหตุการณ์ที่พี่เสียใจมาตลอด 15-16 ปีที่ผ่านมา ก็คือการตัดสินใจไม่ไปดูหนังเหล่านี้ตอนที่มันมาฉายในกรุงเทพ

1.THE MAN WHO LIES (1968, Alain Robbe-Grillet) เคยมาฉายที่ Alliance ตอนต้นปี 1997

2.TRANSATLANTIS (1995, Christian Wagner) เคยมาฉายที่ศาลาเฉลิมกรุงตอนปี 1996 แต่ตอนนั้นตัดสินใจไปดู ERASER (1996, Charles Russell) กับผู้ชายที่ตัวเองชอบแทน แต่ในที่สุดผู้ชายคนนั้นก็ไม่เอาเราแต่อย่างใด ฮ่าๆๆ

3. PERSISTENCE (1997, Daniel Eisenberg) หนังมาฉายในเทศกาลหนังทดลองตอนปลายปี 1999 แต่จำได้ว่าวันนั้นตัดสินใจไปดู SPRING SYMPHONY (1983, Peter Schamoni, B+) ที่เกอเธ่

FILMS PRODUCED BY A CINEPHILE

(Warning: this is a self-advertisement)

I was very impressed with many films directed by Wachara Kanha, which I saw in July 2010. FUENG, which is my most favorite film I saw in 2010, is also directed by Wachara, together with Teeranit Siangsanoh and Thani Thitiprawat.
http://celinejulie.blogspot.com/2010/12/wachara-kanhas-detailed-filmography.html

So I decided to contribute 30,000 baht (about 989 US dollars) to Wachara, hoping that it might help him make 2-3 short films at most. However, I was shocked and delighted when I found out a few days ago that he listed me as a producer in eleven of his new short films!!!!!! How could he use a very small sum of money to make eleven short films? I don't know, but I am very glad.

I feel very strange, though, to see my name listed as a producer, because apart from contributing a small fund, I have done nothing to help Wachara at all. I'm sure I'm one of the worst or laziest producers in the world. Hahaha.

Of all these eleven short films, I have seen only three: BLUE BLANK (2010), DELUSIONAL (เชลยแห่งความรัก) (2010), and TAKE GRANNY MORN TO THE GARDEN (พายายหมอนไปชมสวน) (2010). I like them a lot personally, especially TAKE GRANNY MORN TO THE GARDEN. I like the faces of the old woman in the garden and the old man who complained about Abhisit Vejjajiva in this film very much. There's "life" in these two faces.

I don't know if the other eight films I haven't seen will be good or not. I don't know if I will like them or not. But I'm glad to have participated unknowingly in the making of them.

The other eight films are:

1.ข่มขืนกรุงเทพ (RAPING BANGKOK)

2.ความฝันสีขาวกับเด็กสาวผมสีแดง (WHITE DREAM AND A GIRL WITH RED HAIR)

3.บ้านเมืองของเธอ (HER CITY)

4.ผีโป่ง (PEE PONG)

5.ผู้บุกรุก (INVADER)

6.สักวันเธอจะรักฉันอย่างที่ฉันรักเธอ (ONE DAY YOU WILL LOVE ME LIKE I LOVE YOU)

7.สูญ (LOSE)

8.ห้องเรียนฝรั่งเศสกับปริศนาฟรองซัว (A FRENCH CLASSROOM AND THE MYSTERY OF FRANÇOIS)


I ask myself why I have become a producer. It is mainly because I like Wachara's films very much. I also think it is partly because I am a cinephile or a film lover. I think a film lover should try to support the films and the filmmakers he/she likes. The support can be done in a number of ways: writing about them, studying them, distributing them, trying to show them, curating them, preserving them, contributing some funds to them, etc.

I used to write some blog posts about the films and the filmmakers I like. However, for the past several years, I have found that I have less and less time for writing. That makes me feel repressed as a film lover. I love many films I saw, but I don't have enough time to write about them. My love for these films is kept inside me. I cannot express them because of lack of time. So I think my contribution to Wachara's films is a way to lessen my feeling of repression. I may not have enough time to support all the filmmakers I like by writing about them, but I might be able to support them in some other ways.

Unfortunately, I have had some financial problems since November 2010, so I cannot do this kind of financial support again. I have become a repressed film lover again. I don't have enough money to support the filmmakers I like. I don't have enough time to write about the films and the filmmakers I like.

Though I am a repressed film lover, I am still a very happy film lover. I'm happy because great films are still being made. I'm happy because I have seen many films that I like very much recently, including CAN'T SAY NO (2008, Iliana Lolic), CHAEKI-CHAEUE (2011, Buncha Muhae), FAIS-MOI PLAISIR! (2009, Emmanuel Mouret), I COVERED MY EYES (2008, Paul Turano), MARION MAZZANO (2010, Marc Angelo, French TV series), MITTELWERK EXPRESS (Jean-Baptiste Alazard), MOTHER (2011, Vorakorn Ruetaivanichkul), RESTLESS (2009, Laurent Perreau), WHY DO YOU JUMP? (2011, Korn Kanogkekarin), and ZOETROPE (2011, Rouzbeh Rashidi). These films make me feel very glad that I have lived long enough to be able to see them.

Thanks to the Thai Film Foundation for showing great, obscure films to us every year since 1998. Thanks to Wachara Kanha for making all these films.

A HOTEL IN AYUDHAYA

The hotel BANNKUNPRA in Ayudhaya province looks very interesting. It is very cheap. I hope I will meet no ghosts there, though.

http://www.bannkunpra.com/ruenrimnum_en.html#

CHALOEMKIAT SAEYONG'S DVD BOXSET

My daughter worships the DVD boxset of Chaloemkiat Saeyong. His films remind me of Marguerite Duras, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Marie Straub, and James Benning.

TOSSAPOL'S BOOK

My teddy bear is reading a book written by Tossapol Boonsinsukh, one of my most favorite directors.

OLD MAGAZINE

I just found an issue of TV Reviews, a magazine I liked very much in the 1980's. Flipping through this issue from 1985, I realized that I have forgotten many stars, including Eddie Kwan (กวนลี่เจี๋ย), Moon Lee (หลี่ไช่ฟ่ง), Jamie Chik (ชิเหม่ยเจิน), Olivia Cheng (เจิ้นเหวินหย่า), Hiromi Go, Maiko Ito, Junko Mihara, Naoko Kawai, Kumiko Oba, and Scott Baio. It's funny to read Leslie Cheung's interview about his rumored relationship with Anita Mui. It's sad to realize both are dead.