Extraordinary ordinary
Exploring the universe through the mundane world.
Anocha Suwichakornpong's Mundane History (Jao nok krajok) explores political turmoil in Thailand and a long view of human existence through the emotional dynamics of a single Thai family. In the oppressive stillness of an upper-class mansion, a young paraplegic man and his carer struggle to connect. The recently disabled patient is bitter to the point of cruelty, while his dutiful nurse privately bemoans the soulessness of his new surroundings. Gradually, as we watch the quotidian tasks of their everyday life, a tentative friendship blossoms between the pair, leading eventually to a kind of spectacular metaphorical rebirth of the patient.
The structure of Mundane History is surprisingly elastic, moving from carefully staged domestic rituals to psychedelic visual explosions; from a quiet study of a stifled household to a broad contemplation of our place in the universe. As Nicolas Rapold wrote in The Village Voice, "Suwichakornpong's well-modulated debut feature is an unlikely diptych of caregiver-and-patient portrait and Enter the Void nebular freakout." As the film unfolds, then wraps back upon itself, the viewer is propelled into a stunning visual imagination of the universe - the beginning of all things, and the endless reincarnation of life.
Like fellow Thai filmmaker, Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives), Suwichakornpong weaves Buddhist philosophy through the mundane minutia of life to create a strange mystical symphony - at first very still and prosaic, then suddenly both bizarre and wondrous.
Winner of the Tiger Award in 2010 at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Mundane History screens at ACMI from today until Sunday 10 July as part of the First Look program.
Published Monday, 11 July 2011
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