Syndromes and a Century (2006)

Syndromes and a Century

Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Thailand

Syndromes and a Century premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it was nominated for the Golden Lion and went on to screen at many other festivals around the world but it was barely shown in its home-country of Thailand. Their Ministry of Culture wanted four scenes cut so it could be shown to native Thai speakers but director, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, decided to pull it from exhibition instead. This created controversy surrounding the film and Weerasethakul ended up agreeing to a limited release in Bangkok with a black screen replacing the cut scenes as a form of protest. The scenes that were found “offensive” were: a scene of two doctors kissing in a doctor's office, a group of doctors having a drink of whiskey in the hospital basement, a monk strumming an acoustic guitar and another monk playing with a remote-controlled flying saucer. Real incendiary stuff. Makes you wonder what happens to American films that are released there.

The film is composed of a thoughtful contemplation on memory. The film is cut in half and each part mirrors the other as if two different people are describing the same events in the way they remember them, but maybe not as they actually happened. Both halves center around two different doctors with certain events happening in similar ways but from different points of view and the details end up being entirely different. The first half takes place in a small hospital in the country and the second half takes place in a more modern city medical center. Memories are often unreliable and events jump from one to the other and sequences are sometimes left unresolved. A favorite sequence involves a dentist whose hobby is singing working on a monk's teeth when they strike up a conversation where the monk reveals he has had dreams of being a radio disc jockey. Later the singing dentist brings the monk a gift of his newest CD.

The film's cinematography is beautiful and displays the natural beauty of the Thailand countryside and city and the constant images of a giant stone Buddha that seems to exist in both places at once. The events in this film are simple but the film as a whole is complex. Its strange structure makes the viewer have to work out the story for themselves. There seems to be no continuity and the film unravels at its own pace with quiet grace. Meaning becomes interpretive by the viewer and the film is stronger for it. There is a dreamy atmosphere that pervades the entirety of the film where watching the minor instances shared by two becomes more important than an involved overarching plot. Weerasethakul is well known on the festival circuit with other films like Tropical Malady and Blissfully Yours while his newest film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives won the Palme d'Or (Grand Prize) at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

In an article in Time Magazine they spoke to the head of the Cultural Surveillance Department at the Ministry of Culture and she said the reasons for cuts like the ones inflicted on Syndromes and a Century was that Thai filmgoers are “not intellectuals – That's why we need ratings.” She went further to add, “Nobody goes to see films by Weerasethakul. Thai people want to see comedy. We like a laugh.” So they're in luck if they love light entertainment, not so much if they enjoy anything cerebral and inventive, or – God forbid – subversive. If I lived in Thailand I would probably be pretty irritated about this whole situation, especially with the kind of broad generalizations she makes, as if anyone can speak for a whole nation of citizens. So I am glad I was able to enjoy seeing such a great film by a modern auteur.

Rating: 9/10

-Ryan Sallows