South-east Asian Film frescoes

Mekong Hotel and Romance in Thin Air
Abhijit Ghosh-Dastidar

Landscape of images and telling tales in new films from Asia, form painterly and aesthetic canvases. Apichatpong Weerase-thakul's "Mekong Hotel" (Thailand/U.K., 2012, Colour, 57 mins) begins on dark screen, with off screen voices and Spanish guitar music on low octave. A large hotel comes into view, with a verandah on the shore of the Mekong river, which divides northeast Thailand from Laos. The film drawn from an unrealized project of the director, called "Ecstasy Garden" is a sketch of a film. A young girl, Phom (Jenjira Pongpas) and a young man, Masato (Maiyatqan Techaparn) gently banter, and enact scenes that involve a flesh eating ghost. The two friends converse on one side of the verandah, as palm trees flutter and the river roars by. Masato sports jeans and a T-shirt written, "Joe Black forever"; but he has forgotten the tune, while playing the guitar. Conversations verge on Thai floods and the Buddha. The girl eats meat with her hands, crouched on the floor. Another girl appears on the verandah. Pob, a female ghost, eats entrails of humans and dogs. Phom's mother, aunt Jen(Sakda Kaewbuadee) does domestic chores in the hotel. A long road, with traffic, through green trees, is visible from a rear window.

Phom, the girl, believes that her spirit is trapped under water. The still camera in single frames, catches the swift currents of the river, and SMS exchanged by the young people. A clay pot is placed to catch the spirit of dog, Pob. The people worship a princess who has given a lot of donations. Guitar playing continues on Day2. Aunt Jen places raw meat on daughter, Phom's stomach and eats, with face covered in blood. Masato has returned from Bangkok. A generation has drifted to movie stars. Aunt Jen was trained to be a soldier, and walked with a gun at age fourteen. She loves the nation, community and family, and acquaintances. There are threats of floods in Bangkok, as flood barriers have been broken. In the bedroom, there are blood marks on the bed sheet. Tractors with cranes lift rocks and trees. Aunt Jen recalls that Laotians had migrated to Thailand when the border was closed. She remembers the refugee camps, roster of refugees, ID cards, the different tribes and the failed language tests. The villagers who chose to marry Laotians, opted to go to France. In the times of crisis, trucks delivered food and grains to the villagers. Football fields and market places were full of refugees.

Masato and Phom are not sure if love continues. The boy is now married, with kids. He wants to leave. Next birth, he may return as a horse, before becoming human. Spirits walk in and out of body, but nobody questions the existence of spirits in machines. Overhead shot of the Mekong river, brings a realization that six hundred years ago aunt Jen and daughter Phom did not believe in God. The sweet flavor of flesh and blood, attract each other. The protagonists are disgusted by surgery, and hate the way life has turned out. Memories are one, as the visuals encompass the river with boats and trees on the other bank. Spirits reconstruct on leaves, making a habitat. The Mekong has genesis in a far country, in the Atlas mountains. Modern era enters with the visuals encompassing motor boats, water skiing, a bridge over the Mekong and huge towers. Sound of motor boats coalesces with guitar music. Rumina-tions on the political history of the border between Thailand and Laos, and the hypnotic supernatural merge "Mekong Hotel" into a historical phantom and national traumas. Blended with Chai Bhatana's orchestral music and pop songs, and Apichatpong's roving camera, the film is a video-art narrative documentary about creating fiction. The loose form shooting environment never loses focus on Thailand's political turmoil and national ecology concerns.

Johnnie To's "Romance in Thin Air" (Hong Kong/China,2011, Colour,! 11 mins) is abstract and romantic. At a film awards ceremony, super star Michael/Mike (Louis Koo) proposes to actress, Yuanyuan (Gao Yuanyvan), with a diamond ring. On wedding day, Michael gets dumped, as fiance runs off with her childhood sweetheart. Mike catches on aeroplane, headed for Kunming. At the destination airport, Mike mistakenly boards a truck, driven by Sammi( Sammi Cheng). The truck meanders over a mountain road, and halts at a small inn, 'Shangri La'. Two girls Beauty and Terry, enter the hut, and   the family watch TV. The   mother, Honey, is excited about Michael's addiction to alcohol. It is a mountain village, where Mike wakes up, and plays the piano. The family are curious whether it is Mike the super star, or a look alike. The waters in the rivulets are frozen, where Honey takes a dip. A doctor lady arrives and takes care of Mike, clicking photos on a mobile phone. The site is 3000 metres above sea level, with falling snow and deer rambling. Mike calls for a drink and imbibes oxygen from a portable cylinder. Later the doctor lady finds the drip connection is detached. TV news flashes a press conference on Michael. Travelling in the truck, heading for Beijing, Mike suffers from high altitude sickness. Mike is in delirium, but taken care by the doctor lady, Honey and Sammi. The truck falls into a river, and Mike cuts logs. Mike's sister is disturbed over his disappearance. He rings up the sister, and spends time cooking. He goes on a motor bike ride with Sammy, chasing the sunset as in movies. As Mike retreats in the mountains with strangers, police investigate his disappearance.

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 21, Dec 2-8, 2012

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