" bkkiff 2006: day seven "

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subtitles and traces of favoritism:

so tell me why again if you go to an international film festival in bangkok thailand, that there are no thai subtitles on any of the films? i know that english is arguably the most international of subtitled languages, but are we in a predominantly english-speaking city?

okay okay, that point can be argued in terms of business, but it just seems silly that the festival's volunteers are introducing these films in both english and thai, only to not have any thai subtitles for any of the movies (save the movies which are from thailand and in different dialects).

it just makes no sense that if this festival is in place (including major sponsorship by the tourist authority of thailand), that there is no real incentive for thai audiences to be more included in the tone of the festival other than the mascot and location.

there is a demand for these thai subtitles, but no one here has brought it up because either they have been successfully brainwashed by the norm of being second to the english-speaking attendees or they have just gotten used to having to speak enough english in everyday usage because it is the predominant language used by the business and hip majority in this chaos of a city. i mean, why else are the q&a's being translated for the thai audience members?

why isn't there any of the same effort to make at least dual subtitles for any small number of the films in competition, which is the norm for films that are neither in the english or thai languages in any of the other theatres in the city.

there is something to be said about making the festival also cater to the thai contingent as well, and not only the promise of having passing tourists be able to feel like they are the only ones being looked after.

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mini reviews:

20. february 24th - a common thread, france, 11:30am ****

beautifully "french" is this story of a young girl who finds herself pregnant with few options. she quits the job she has a the local supermarket, hides her pregnancy from her mom, and seeks a more hidden employment with an armenian embroiderer who has recently lost her son.

i say "french" in terms of a more poetic shooting style, a slower pace in the story, and the sense of mystery that is more favored by film geeks and those seeking a non-spoon-fed spun tale.

i'm not sure of this fact, but i think that these sorts of movies are some of the best, because where else will a scene of someone releasing a fish end up with getting some with a pregnant girl against a tree in the light of sunset? it just is a scene made possible by more expressive odd cinema tactics, and is done very well in this one.

it is meandering and follows a structure more like a lazy afternoon with nothing to do, rather than a classic three-part one. the music is quartet orchestral with a tinge of phillip glass, which makes certain passages tedious in the good way.

the other aspect is that the dialogue was fairly minimalist and symbolic. this allows us to create the atmosphere in our heads rather than be held by the hand and told where to go. i like that.

21. february 24th - house of sand, brazil, 2:00pm *****

alluring and haunting, this beautiful story spans three generations of women left to fend for themselves in the deserts of northern brazil in the early 1900's.

usually stories which set up the human characters against both other humans and the landscape equals a very dramatic high-stakes fast-paced story. this one however takes its time to unfurl itself to the audience, and at times, chooses to jump ahead years in the seamless effort to show how the passing of time doesn't change much but the location of the dunes of sand surrounding the base camp/house site.

it's a ravishing look at how we must respect the whims of both other people's personalities and the power of the natural world surrounding us. the acting is top notch and the two main women characters convey a sense of every conceivable emotional extreme with a subtle brilliance that goes nowhere near overexaggeration.

there is a short story that a passing soldier tells one of the women, of two twins. one of them goes in a space rocket and one stays on earth. because of the was space and light and distance work, when the rocket faring twin returns to earth, he is younger than his twin.

in some ways, this mirrors the film in the sense that the twin who left in the rocket was them; they went on a long journey, left at unawares about the rest of the world around them, and the rest of the world was the twin who stayed behind, having to endure the pain of knowledge and experience.

22. february 24th - naked in ashes, usa, 6:30pm ****

a documentary on the sadhus, yogis, and holy spirit people in india who live a life devoid of material desires. a fascinating look at daily life, customs, and cultural practices of these walking devotees. this doc focuses predominantly on a yogi and his 14 year-old disciple among other groups of yogis and holy men.

i loved the descriptions of the aspects of their hindu-based faith, which included thoughts on life, death, the path of enlightenment, worldy religions, love, the unseen powers, honing control over the body, mind, and of the spirit.

it's a nice document of how amidst the ever-consumeristic world we live in, and how all the countries of the world are growing to rapidly exponential, there are people out there devoting their lives in the pursuit of eternal bliss. and these are the more profound of the social commentators, because they live well and outside this ever-evolving capitalistic hegemony.

it gives them an outlook that is both aware and uncaring without being inhuman, if anything, these holy men are more than human as they seek to attain a sense of being greater than the confines of their bodies.

they are looking not only for the truths to the human spirit, but a solution to desire through a constant searching for perfection of the soul. in some ways a universal theme, and somehow seeing the world through their eyes makes everything seem possible.

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