Cemetery of Splendor (2015) directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Viewed on July 6, 2019
Plot
This is a hard plot to summarize since few events are explained. Jenjira comes to work for a small, rural hospital where a ward of soldiers (picture above) are asleep, apparently the victims of a mysterious disease. A younger woman, ITT, who also works there is a psychic who can see into the past. The soldier that Jenjira is looking after occasionally wakes up, but falls back asleep in the middle of an activity, like eating or watching a movie, and has to be carried back to the hospital. Jenjira also has a lover (?) from America whom she met corresponding online. At one point, Jenjira meets two goddesses who tell her that the hospital is built on top of an ancient burial ground for kings, who are still at battle. The soldiers are supplying the energy for the kings to fight their battle.
Commentary:
No plot summary could possibly sum up this film. It's completely mysterious, yet mesmerizing. Weerasethakul uses extremely long takes with a mostly immobile camera. He only changes setups when necessary to reveal important information. He seldom uses closeups.
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