The
tentatively titled Memoria will be
Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s first film shot outside Thailand, but the rain
forests of Colombia do not look so very different from the settings of his
previous films, particularly Uncle
Boonmee Who Can Recall Past Lives. Weerasethakul openly wonders if he might
lose his mojo in a foreign land, but he is convinced he needs the challenge of
working outside his comfort zone. He is on a long location-scouting trip, but he
has the company of actor-turned-filmmaker Connor Jesssup, who gives the auteur a
casual documentary treatment befitting his impressionistic style in A. W. A Portrait of Apichatpong
Weerasethakul, which premieres tomorrow on the Criterion Channel (on
Filmstruck).
Weerasethakul
adopted the sensible nickname of “Joe” for expediency’s sake, but Weerasethakul
still makes us thankful for the copy-and-paste function. He is one of a growing
number of internationally renown filmmakers who is more widely watched abroad
than in his native country, but Thai movie buffs really ought to give Cemetery of Splendor a try, because it his
best work yet.
Jessup,
best known as an actor in Falling Skies is
a passionate admirer of Weerasethakul’s aesthetic, so he set out to profile his
role model, but his subject often turns the camera back on him, because that is
what natural-born filmmakers do. It is fitting though, because the short doc
has a languid rhythm and intimate vibe very similar to Weerasethakul’s films. Jessup
bows to convention by incorporating a number of clips from his subject’s film,
including the Palme D’Or-winning Boonmee and
Cemetery. However, even ardent fans
might not recognize the extracts from the prolific Weerasethakul’s experimental
shorts and art installation films, because it is hard to keep up with that kind
of work.
If
you dig Weerasethakul than you will be charmed by A.W., whereas those who
are unfamiliar or standoffish towards his films might start to glean some
appreciation from Jessup’s Portrait. The
relatively economical running time of forty-seven minutes is also a point in
its favor. It is nice to have this film for those who will be studying Weerasethakul
in the future (as they surely will be), but it will not eclipse Corman’s World or the weirdly under-screened
Rohmer in Paris on the honor roll of
compulsively watchable documentaries about film directors. Recommended for Joe Weerasethakul
fans, A. W. A Portrait of Apichatpong
Weerasethakul starts streaming tomorrow (3/19) on the Criterion Channel/Filmstruck.
