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Syndromes and a Century



Syndromes and a Century, the fifth feature from Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (b.1970, Bangkok) is a spellbinding Buddhist meditation on the mysteries of love and attraction, the workings of memory, and the ways in which happiness is triggered. Mesmerisingly beautiful to look at, it is also laced with wonderful absurd humour.

Commissioned by Vienna's New Crowned Hope festival in 2006 and released theatrically by the BFI in September last year, the film established Weerasethakul as one of the most exciting talents in world cinema today.

Dubbed 'a hospital comedy of a somewhat metaphysical bent', Syndromes and a Century is inspired by the Weerasethakul's memories of his parents, both doctors, and of growing up in a hospital environment. The two central characters interact with a bizarre array of professional colleagues and patients with their various strange maladies, including an elderly haematologist who hides her whisky supplies in a prosthetic limb, a Buddhist monk suffering from bad dreams about chickens, and a young monk who once dreamed of being a DJ and now forms an intense bond with a singing dentist whom he believes to be the reincarnation of his dead brother.

It is a film of two halves - the first set in a sunlit rural hospital amid lush, tropical vegetation, the second in a hi-tech urban clinic under fluorescent lighting. Certain scenes from the first half are replayed in the second - almost but not quite identically.

Apichatpong himself describes the film as 'random and mysterious', and, like the work of David Lynch, this film denies obvious interpretation.

Extras:

- Interview with director (15 mins)
- Worldly Desires: an experimental love story (Weerasethakul, 2005, 40 mins)
- Original trailer
- 28-page illustrated booklet with essays, director interview and more.
* Dolby Digital stereo audio (320 kbps)

foggy eyes wrote:Weerasethakul's Syndromes and a Century is being theatrically released by the BFI in September. Could this mean that a DVD will be forthcoming next year?

I doubt it, because it's being screened as one of the several films in the New Crowned Hope series (commissioned for the 2006 Mozart 250th anniversary), which was based in Austria with international funding, and has been touring the world. So it's unlikely the BFI would have the rights to release it, although one of the executive producers for the project was Keith Griffith, erstwhile head of the BFI production board.

Gropius wrote:

foggy eyes wrote:Weerasethakul's Syndromes and a Century is being theatrically released by the BFI in September. Could this mean that a DVD will be forthcoming next year?

I doubt it, because it's being screened as one of the several films in the New Crowned Hope series (commissioned for the 2006 Mozart 250th anniversary), which was based in Austria with international funding, and has been touring the world. So it's unlikely the BFI would have the rights to release it, although one of the executive producers for the project was Keith Griffith, erstwhile head of the BFI production board.

Why is it unlikely? Strand has the U.S. distribution rights to Syndromes, Half Moon and I Don't Want to Sleep Alone, but not the others; the fact they've been exhibited as a "package" at some festivals doesn't seem to preclude local distributors from buying and releasing them separately. None of the other NCH films are listed in the BBFC database, which suggests that's the case here too -- perhaps the BFI doesn't have the rights to the others, or maybe they're releasing them later. The BBFC entry also specifies that the BFI is the "UK wide" distributor, which makes it unlikely this is just a "special event" screening.

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:Why is it unlikely? Strand has the U.S. distribution rights to Syndromes, Half Moon and I Don't Want to Sleep Alone, but not the others; the fact they've been exhibited as a "package" at some festivals doesn't seem to preclude local distributors from buying and releasing them separately. None of the other NCH films are listed in the BBFC database, which suggests that's the case here too -- perhaps the BFI doesn't have the rights to the others, or maybe they're releasing them later. The BBFC entry also specifies that the BFI is the "UK wide" distributor, which makes it unlikely this is just a "special event" screening.

Well, I suppose it's theoretically possible, but the BFI do not have a track record of releasing contemporary films on DVD, and the only UK company previously to release an Apichatpong film on disc has been the small outfit Second Run.

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:The BBFC entry also specifies that the BFI is the "UK wide" distributor, which makes it unlikely this is just a "special event" screening.

Actually, BFI UK Wide is the parent department of Distribution, DVD Publishing, Book Publishing, Screenonline etc. - so absolutely no significance should be read into its being mentioned in the BBFC database.

Thanks for the clarification.

As for the earlier claim that the BFI have "no track record" of releasing contemporary films -- it's not their area of focus, yes, but in the past half-decade they've released Silent Waters, Baadasssss!, George Washington, Decasia, The Night of Truth, The Name of a River, Temenos, The Navigators, and a handful of others, all of which are of a more-or-less "contemporary" vintage. Apichatpong wouldn't be a huge stretch. I'm hoping against hope that they do end up releasing Syndromes on DVD, since I don't trust Strand to do it right and it doesn't look like the Thai censors will back down.

Good to see Syndromes up for pre-order. The Bill Douglas Trilogy should be on the way that month too, and Still Life & Dong in July.

Awesome news - Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Syndromes and a Century will be released by the bfi on June 23rd. I'm hoping for a superior transfer to that of Strand's lackluster (if still much-appreciated) DVD. Hell, maybe some extras, too.

Play.com has the artwork, which looks very nice indeed!

Wow, syndromes looks so nice, i've been holding waiting for a better relase since strands came. if it will have some shorts to it would be fantastic.

Syndromes and a Century is pre-ordering at Amazon UK with a 35% discount.

Full specs on Syndromes and a Century -- looks very nice indeed:

* Interview with director (15 mins)
* Worldly Desires: an experimental love story (Weerasethakul, 2005, 40 mins)
* Original trailer
* 28-page illustrated booklet with essays, director interview and more.

Gotta say I'm not wild about that cover (they should've just gone with the poster).

Wow, that's an incredible poster design. I think, perhaps on of the most interesting i've seen in a long time (I especially love the font being drowned by light).

Worldly Desires is an interesting short. This sounds like a great edition.

I've been wanting to watch Worldy Desires for a long time! =D>

PimpPanda wrote:I've been wanting to watch Worldy Desires for a long time! =D>

I saw it at the Seattle film fest. It's really nice. A trifle baffling (go figure, huh?), but I quite liked the way it was shot. Glad to see it added to the disc.

Sounds as good as I anticipated. The lack of screenshots is a bummer, though.

sidehacker wrote:Sounds as good as I anticipated. The lack of screenshots is a bummer, though.

I have the checkdisc, so I'll try to get some up later today.

MichaelB wrote:I have the checkdisc, so I'll try to get some up later today.

My copy arrived today, so I'll save you the trouble. The transfer is excellent:







In the light of comments in the other thread on spoilers, it's worth noting that the menu isolates the final tracking shot through the bowels of the hospital. As it's one of the most thrillingly enigmatic shots in recent cinema (the film seemingly disappearing into itself before the final burst of rhythmic energy), seeing it before even the opening credits might damage some of the effect for those coming to the film afresh.

Also, here's a couple of caps from Worldly Desires, which unfortunately is interlaced and has burnt-in subs. I really couldn't give two shits though, as it's amazing that it's on here at all:




The booklet is great, compiling a bunch of valuable short essays (Nathan Lee's piece from Film Comment in 2007 is reprinted, and remains the best thing I've read on Apichatpong so far), and even includes a photograph of the director's parents from 1962.

I always kick myself for not pre-ordering through amazon.co.uk, as that seems to be the best/cheapest way to get some of this stuff for U.S. customers. Syndromes is currently £12.98. Anybody know what the preorder price from amazon.co.uk was?

cgray wrote:I always kick myself for not pre-ordering through amazon.co.uk, as that seems to be the best/cheapest way to get some of this stuff for U.S. customers. Syndromes is currently £12.98. Anybody know what the preorder price from amazon.co.uk was?

Currently the same at Amazon; before removing the VAT.

What A Disgrace wrote:Currently the same at Amazon; before removing the VAT.

I'm not sure I understand your answer. I gave the current price at amazon, and was looking to know how much it was a month ago. You seem to have also given the current price at amazon, no?

cgray wrote:

What A Disgrace wrote:Currently the same at Amazon; before removing the VAT.

I'm not sure I understand your answer. I gave the current price at amazon, and was looking to know how much it was a month ago. You seem to have also given the current price at amazon, no?

He's saying that the price never dropped below £12.98, which is what it is now. I think that's correct, as I checked the price frequently and never found it to be lower than that.

reno dakota wrote:He's saying that the price never dropped below £12.98, which is what it is now. I think that's correct, as I checked the price frequently and never found it to be lower than that.

Thanks for the clarification and sharing your experience with watching the price. I'll pick it up!