Filmmaker ML Mingmongkol "Taono" Sonakul is back on the scene in Bangkok with a photo exhibition, Photocubism , which opened on Sunday La Lanta Fine Art . Inspired by the Cubist art movement, Mingmongkol has put together disjointed jigsaw narratives with photos from her travels over the past three years in Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Australia, Maldives, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, the...
[Our thanks to Teresa Nieman for the following review.] I'm not sure how to feel about Nymph . Part of me feels like it's a lyrically dazzling, slow-burn tone poem that is perhaps deserving of more praise then I'm willing to give it. But mostly I think director Pen-ek Ratanaruang--who bowled me over with both Last Life in the Universe and Ploy --lost his way a little bit here. The film has so many...
Asia's biggest film festival is under way in the coastal city of Busan, South Korea, where the 14th Pusan International Film Festival is unspooling a record 355 films from 70 countries, with 98 world premieres. It's all happening in the Shinsegae mall in Centum City, a new purpose-built complex for the film industry that is being touted as " the Hub of Asian Cinema ". Thursday's opening night...
The post-viewing reflection on Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's (Last Life in the Universe, 6ixty9) latest film, a creepy languid drama called Nymph is actually better than the film itself. I happen to quite like the directors fish-out-of-water scenarios and lengthy silent reflections en route. Instead of Tadanobu Asano (albeit, Jayanama Noachai's performance is quite reminiscent of the famous Japanese actor)...
The following video clips are from the introduction and Q&A for the screening of Nymph with director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang on Thursday September 10, 2009 at the Toronto International Film Festival . See my review of Nymph here . TIFF Programmer Raymond Phathanavirangoon introduces Nymph director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang: Director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang responds to audience question on the 2 different cuts of...
When the screening of Thai omnibus film Sawasdee Bangkok ended and director Kongdej Jaturanrasmee took to the stage the affable man happily acknowledged that if the city of Bangkok had been looking for a promotional video when commissioning film makers for the Sawasdee Bangkok project then they may have hired the wrong people. Truthful these films may be, and heartfelt and touching but glamorous and...
Nymph , Pen-ek Ratanaruang's look at a marriage that falls apart when the couple goes camping in the woods and the husband leaves his cheating wife for a mysterious tree, has played twice already at the Toronto International Film Festival . It was among the Day 1 films, played again on Saturday and plenty of reviews have rolled in, with much musing about the "magical realism" of it all. Opinions...
I managed to catch "Sawasdee Bangkok" at TIFF this year which consists of four short films by director Wisit Sasanatieng , Aditya Assarat, Kondej Jauranrasamee , and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang . Next up, I'm planning to watch either Air Doll or Bare Essence of Life (Ultra Miracle Love Story). I'm torn between two movies because I absolutely adore Bae Doona and Kenichi Matsuyama!
The 2009 Toronto Film Festival is upon us and, truth be told, it can be a little overwhelming. Will we see the next Oscar winner (or at least nominee like last year's Best Foreign Film nominee Waltz With Bashir)? Will we run into a celebrity again (over the years, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Michael Moore, Bob Hoskins, Cher and Roger Ebert)? What country's films will we fall in love with (Thailand)...
The post-viewing reflection on Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's (Last Life in the Universe, 6ixty9) latest film, a creepy languid drama called Nymph is actually better than the film itself. I happen to quite like the directors fish-out-of-water scenarios and lengthy silent reflections en route. Instead of Tadanobu Asano (albeit, Jayanama Noachai's performance is quite reminiscent of the famous Japanese actor)...
Indie filmmaker Anocha Suwichakornpong 's debut feature Mundane History ( Jao Nok Krajok ) will have its world premiere in the New Currents competition at the 14th Pusan International Film Festival. The film was financed through various sources , including script-development and post-production support from the International Film Festival Rotterdam's Hubert Bals Fund and a post-production boost from...
German director Detlev Buck's Cambodian romantic drama Same Same But Different was well-received in its premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival last month. Playing in the Piazza Grande lineup, it won the Variety Grand Piazza Award , given by critics Derek Elley and Jay Weissberg. And Derek Elley has reviewed it for Variety . Here's a snip: Based on the true story of a young Teuton who falls...
The Sitges Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantástic de Catalunya -- the world's premiere genre festival -- has released a few early titles for its 42nd edition from October 1 to 12, among them Nymph , the brooding and atmospheric psychological drama and ghost story by Pen-ek Ratanaruang. It's playing in the Oficial Noves Visions Ficció competition with another Un Certain Regard neighbor...
Tragic news today as I peered into my Facebook page and saw the writing on the wall: Filipino film critic, journalist and scholar Alexis A. Tioseco and his girlfriend , Slovenian journalist and film festival programmer Nika Bohinc , were fatally shot ( cache ) on Tuesday night in a robbery at their home in Quezon City. Both were young but had already done a great deal for cinema and would have certainly...
Videos
