Mundane History

Jao Nok Krajok

(Thailand, 2009, 82 mins, 35mm)

Producers: Soros Sukhum, Suwichakornpong
Writer: Suwichakornpong
Cinematographer: Ming Kai Leung
Editor: Lee Chatametikool
Sound: Akritchalerm Kalayanmitr
Cast: Phakpoom Surapongsanurak, Arkaney Cherkham, Paramej Noieam

A startling opening sequence catapults us into the mesmerizing, hushed spaces of MUNDANE HISTORY, a film that follows the intimacy that develops between Pun, a male nurse, and Ake, the invalid young man he has been hired to serve. Ignoring the circumstances of Ake’s accident, MUNDANE HISTORY focuses on his present surroundings as he lies, listless and disillusioned, behind the gates of his father’s villa, reveling in the muted palette of the rooms, the sounds of wind, birds and cicadas, and sunlight on the lawn. With subtle yet radical shifts in perspective and expertly constructed long takes, at times punctured by stark cuts to past and future events and places, director Anocha Suwichakornpong creates a gorgeously layered atmosphere at once dreamy, meditative and hard-edged, a distinctive style of Thai indie film exemplified by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (TROPICAL MALADY; SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY). Through this profound aesthetic of the mundane, even scenes as distinct as Ake’s masturbatory frustrations and his fantasies of a dying cosmic star form part of this karmically interlinked universe. The fantastic post-punk, avant-pop music of the Malaysian band Furniture and the Thai group Photo Sticker Machine accompanies the internal rhythms of a household that encapsulates the dreams, disappointments and unrest of personal and collective Thai history, and the nostalgic conditions of memory and modernity. “A simple, yet abstract film with a mesmerizing aura…MUNDANE HISTORY is not art for art’s sake,” wrote Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter. “Themes of class, patriarchy, mortality, evolution, the cosmic scheme and Thai history are all floating beneath the surface of peace.”

-- Chi-ming Yang

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