Tropical Malady

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and an official selection of the New York Film Festival, Tropical Malady is the lyrical and mysterious film by maverick Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, one of the most prominent young directors of the Thai New Wave. The film chronicles the mystical love affair between a young soldier and the country boy he seduces, soon to be disrupted by the boy’s sudden disappearance. Local legends claim the boy was transformed into a mythic wild beast, and the soldier journeys alone into the heart of the Thai jungle in search of him.

This screening includes a special introduction by filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasthakul.

“If ever a film called for close contemplation, it would be Tropical Malady, with its extraordinary fable in which the commonplace and the mystical mesh. Mystery, too, is at its core—in the journey from civilized space to jungle haunt, in the mercurial nature of the characters, in the veracity that underlies the two-part parable.” —Ivone Marguiles, Criterion.com

“Perched between two worlds, two consciousnesses and two radically different storytelling traditions, this new feature shows a young filmmaker pushing at the limits of cinematic narrative with grace and a certain amount of puckish willfulness.” —Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Film Details

Countries: Thailand/France
Language: Thai
Year: 2004
Running time: 118 min
Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Producer: Charles de Meaux
Cinematographers: Vichit Tanapanitch, Jarin Pengpanitch, Jean Louis Vialard
Edito: Lee Chatametikool
With: Banlop Lomnoi, Sakda Kaewbuadee
Print Source: Strand Releasing

Films and schedules may be subject to change.