The first trailer and pair of clips for one of our most-anticipated films of the year, Apichatpong “Joe” Weerasethakul‘s Cemetery of Splendor, have arrived. Premiering as part of the Un Certain Regard category, the film marks his return to the Cannes Film Festival. The revered Thai director won the 2010 Palme d’Or in Cannes for his film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and when it comes to his specific section, he also earned the top prize in the category in 2002 with Blissfully Yours.
The film’s plot is about hospital volunteer and housewife Jenjira (Jenjira Pongpas) who watches over soldiers with mysterious sleeping illnesses. A new soldier named Itt becomes a point of fascination for the Jenjira as she enlists the help of a medium to communicate with the somnambulist soldiers. Check out the gorgeous-looking footage below, with a hat tip to Twitch for the trailer, and return for our review.
Update: Clips removed.
Soldiers with a mysterious sleeping sickness are transferred to a temporary clinic in a former school. The memory-filled space becomes a revelatory world for housewife and volunteer Jenjira, as she watches over Itt, a handsome soldier with no family visitors. Jen befriends young medium Keng who uses her psychic powers to help loved ones communicate with the comatose men. Doctors explore ways, including coloured light therapy, to ease the mens’ troubled dreams. Jen discovers Itt’s cryptic notebook of strange writings and blueprint sketches. There may be a connection between the soldiers’ enigmatic syndrome and the mythic ancient site that lies beneath the clinic. Magic, healing, romance and dreams are all part of Jen’s tender path to a deeper awareness of herself and the world around her.
Cemetery of Splendour premieres at Cannes Film Festival.