Thai films in Toronto

Three Thai films were shown at the recent Toronto International Film Festival:

• Rahtree: Flower of the Night. Also known as Buppha Rahtree, I find this film's placement in such a prestigious festival encouraging for Thai film, also for the prospects that the film might be re-released on DVD with English subtitles.
• The Overture. A interesting overview of Thai history, culture and especially music. Some noteworthy performances, especially from the intense Khun In.
• Tropical Malady. Awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, it's good to see this film continuing to get some attention.

The Onion AV Club has an entertaining overview of the festival, including a bit on Tropical Malady.

Over the past several years, the festival has been dominated by emerging Asian masters such as Tsai Ming-liang (What Time Is It There?), Kim Ki-duk (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring), Jia Zhang-ke (Platform), and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Blissfully Yours), and 2004 was no different ...

For those unschooled in Thai mythology, the second half of Weerasethakul's Tropical Malady will seem "foreign" in the strictest sense of the word, as an overwhelmingly sensual love story transitions abruptly into the obscure tale of a shaman who inhabits the body of a tiger. While it's hard to make the connection between the film's halves, Weerasethakul extends his fusion of narrative and experimental techniques into ever more daring and challenging terrain, but with such a lyrical touch that the effect is more seductive than alienating. And thank goodness it has homoerotic overtones; otherwise, it probably wouldn't have found a US distributor.