Mekong Hotel
Thailand, UK, France / 2012 / 61 min.
Director: Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL
[Introduction]
In a quiet hotel facing the Mekong River which flows on the border between Thailand and Laos, Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL and his film crew are holding rehearsals for a film titled, "Ecstasy Garden." It is an unusual story in which the main character is a fiend who eats the flesh of humans and animals. In spare moments between rehearsing, the actors talk of various things, and through this, Thailand and Laos' complex relationship around the Mekong River comes to light. As the beautiful guitar music plays, time gradually slows down....... Though "Ecstasy Garden" was a project Apichatpong wrote in 2002, it could not be filmed due to difficulties in raising funds. It was an unusual tale that would have portrayed a mother who is a fabled spirit called a Pob in north-east Thailand interweaved with her daughter who does not know her mother is a spirit and in the end is consumed by her. This film was shot in October of last year during Bangkok's disastrous flooding and world premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The guitar music which plays throughout the film is said to be performed by a classmate with whom Apichatpong reunited after quite some time.
Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL
Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL was born in Bangkok in 1970. He started making films and video shorts in 1994 and completed his first feature, "Mysterious Object at Noon" in 2000. His second feature, "Blissfully Yours" (02) won the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regard Prize as well as the Grand Prize "Kodak Vision Award" at TOKYO FILMeX. "Tropical Malady" (04) was selected to and won the Official Competition Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival as well as once again winning the Grand Prize at TOKYO FILMeX. "Syndromes and a Century" (06) was screened at the Venice Film Festival. "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall his Past Lives" (10) screened as the opening film of TOKYO FILMeX 2010 and won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He is also as active in the world of contemporary art internationally as he is in film.
