Survivance

In Thailand, in a country hospital, Dr Toey, a young physician, does not respond to the timid advances of a colleague. To comfort him, she tells him of her own unrequited love for a florist, an orchid specialist. In Thailand, in a sophisticated urban hospital, Toey faces the advances of the same enamored colleague. History and the film seem to repeat themselves, and yet...

Introduction

With its central caesura, Syndromes and a Century takes its place alongside the director's previous two films, Blissfully Yours and Tropical Malady, forming a trilogy of diptych films. Syndromes and a Century is a film where feelings constantly flow, elusive and floating, mirroring the movement of the characters. It is a world where past and present intertwine, where patients heal their doctors, where monks dream of being DJs, dentists dream of being crooners, and where a pop song turns into a prelude for guitar: "Apichatpong Weerasethakul is the Ovid of the twenty-first century", as Dominique Païni has claimed.

Syndromes and a Century has been named as the most important film of the 2000s by the panel convened once a decade at the Ontario Cinématèque.

Official Selection at Venice Film Festival / Grand Prix at the Deauville Festival du film asiatique.

DVD and extras

Syndromes and a Century is complemented by several rare or previously unavailable extras:

Shorts

Luminous People by A. Weerasethakul (2007/ 15 min / Thai / Subtitles: French & English)
The film in many ways echoes Syndromes and a Century. Shot in Super-8, Luminous People is also a cinematic celebration of ancestors and their memories. It condenses into a few minutes a taste of the 'primitive' blended with a modernity of form.
A group of people take a boat down the Mekong, along the border of Thailand and Laos. They sail against the wind, preparing a funeral ceremony...

Diseases and a Hundred Year Period by S. Chidgasornpongse (2008 / 20 min / Thai / Subtitles: French & English)
Diseases and a Hundred Year Period is a ciné-tract coming to us from Thailand. It was directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse, Weerasethakul's assistant on several films (including Syndromes and a Century), as a response to the censorship of Syndromes and a Century in Thailand.

Introduction (5 min)


24-page booklet

An unpublished analysis of the film by Antony Fiant, and an interview with Tony Rayns…

Thai - French Subtitles - DVD 9 - PAL - Zone 2 - Chapters - 16/9 anamorphic

Press and responses to the DVD

"The tranquility and fascination that are established as the film progresses tempt one to speak of a masterpiece." Laura Tuillier / 3 Couleurs

"With Syndromes and a Century, Apichatpong Weerasethakul suggests that change is still possible in a world where things are stuck. "Damien Aubel / Transfuge

"The play of narrative and formal reflections at work in the cinema of Weerasethakul here find their most diligent and most delicate expression." Joachim Lepastier / Les Cahiers du Cinema

"These narrative potentialities sketch a self-portrait of the filmmaker, as if playing with a Rubik's Cube, combining in every possible way his childhood memories and a fantasied family mythology." Isabelle Regnier / Le Monde

"A marvel of shrouded delicacy, coupled with a clever mirroring device [...] A film that, like Syndromes and a Century, never found its audience, and deserves to be rediscovered on DVD." Mathieu Macheret / Critikat.com

Also to read and hear on the DVD : East Asia, and Kinok, recommended by Xavier Leherpeur on Le Masque et La Plume (France Inter)...

Director

Born in 1970, Apichatpong Weerasethakul studied architecture in Thailand and film in the United States (School of the Art Institute of Chicago). In Thailand, he founded his own production company, Kick the Machine.

His very extensive work consists of a multitude of short films, videos, and installations at numerous museums of contemporary art (his Primitive project was presented at the Paris Musée d'Art Moderne in 2009), and 6 feature films.

In just ten years, he seems to have reshaped the modern cinema. Apichatpong Weerasethakul was awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2010 for his sixth feature film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

Credits

Written & directed by: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Cinematography: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Sound: Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr
Editor: Lee Chatametikool
Production Design: Akekarat Homlaor
Producers: Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Kick the Machine), Keith Griffiths, Simon Field (Illuminations Films for New Crowned Hope), Charles de Meaux (Anna Sanders Films), Pantham Thongsang (TIFA)

20€