criterionforum.org

Amazon link to a recent Thai film

Haven't had good luck with their Thai choices yet, but what the hell right?

Just a word of warning - try not to read too much about this film before watching it, as it will almost certainly spoil something of the experience. I can't wait to see the Second Run cover art for this!

Great choice, wonderful film.

Final artwork:

This is one of my favourite films of the past few years, and an amazing debut. There are a lot of talented Thai directors around, all with interesting visual and stylistic approaches.

I contacted Second Run to see which short would be included on the DVD, and they said
"Our DVD will also feature the short film GRACELAND plus a new filmed interview with Anocha Suwichakornpong."

Just taken delivery of the finished product. The new HD transfer (approved by Suwichakornpong) looks terrific at a glance.

Extras are: Graceland (2006 short film from Suwichakornpong), newly filmed director interview, trailer, plus 12-page booklet with liner notes from Carmen Grey. The disc also includes DD2.0 and DD5.1 options.

Full details of this release are now up at our website

Called "A superb film... " and given a **** review by Alan Stanbrook in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph.

"An invigorating, hugely rewarding film, and one that only improves on repeat viewings": Cinematic Investigations

A wonderful review in the latest Sight & Sound

Reviewed in the latest Film Comment.

Pretty disappointed in this one. Obviously the work of a talented filmmaker, but it all feels very thesis filmy to me, like the best work of an intellectual MFA student director instead of a real international art film feature that deserves this kind of release. The whole doesn't cohere like it imagines. The aspirational stream of (cosmic) consciousness poetry never comes close to anything like The Mirror and so doesn't really justify the merely passable prose of the narrative. Likewise, comparisons to Malick or Weerasethakul seem both understandable and seriously unearned. I may be curious to see another film by Anocha Suwichakornpong someday, but I won't be recommending Mundane History to anyone.

I don't really have a burning desire to defend this film, and I certainly don't think it's a masterpiece, but I'd cut her some slack - I mean, what the hell comes close to The Mirror?

Granted, this is one of those films that - and this comparison to The Tree of Life is certainly an earned one - will evaporate in a miserable puff of smoke with the slightest hint of cynicism of the viewer's part, and I usually bring plenty, but all in all I found it more honest than pretentious (something I can't always say about AW - no wish to open that can of worms, but it's difficult not to compare this with him). I was very surprised that the final shot made such an impression on me, as I'm normally quite allergic to all kinds of emotional manipulation - meaning the score, which someone in Cahiers du Cinéma aptly described as "ersatz Mogwai". I do suspect it might be less effective on second viewing though, and while I certainly wouldn't recommend it to everyone, I think "anyone" is a bit too harsh on what is basically a sympathetic, minor film from a potentially interesting director.

Touchstones like The Mirror and The Tree of Life are all over Second Run's packaging/marketing materials. And I don't think I'm being cynical or holding the film to those impossibly high standards. For me it's more the lack of lived-in authority to the characters, the places and the images. You watch The Tree of Life and The Mirror and you don't doubt for a second that in one way or another, literally or figuratively, the filmmakers felt those experiences deeply, even if they haven't truly "lived" them. Mundane History feels comparatively facile in this regard, playing with big life-changing events, huge tragic feelings and ultimate questions about the nature of existence without that ineffable existential street cred that justifies it. When I tell you that I've seen other MFA grad films that remind me of Mundane History I'm not accusing it of pretension so much as I am trying to say that it's not yet the work of a mature filmmaker and it's really nothing all that special. The director went to Columbia in NYC. If she'd stayed there and made this kind of film in English with New York actors, I doubt anyone would know/care about it.

I've blind bought many Second Run discs and been blown away plenty. Even when I haven't fallen in love with a release of theirs I can usually fairly easily see why it's merited. This time though I feel like they're diluting their brand a bit. In the past, I've come to Second Run to discover the best films I've not yet heard of, but this one let me down.

If you're in London - Anocha Suwichakornpong’s gorgeous and daring debut feature is screening tonight as part of the Thai Indie Fest - Regent Street Cinema 19.00 (7pm)