LIMELIGHT
Rak ti Khon Kaen
Cemetery of Splendour Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thailand/United Kingdom/ France/Germany/Malaysia, 2015 | colour, DCP, 122 min, Thai Prod: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Keith Griffiths, Simon Field, Charles de Meaux, Michael Weber, Hans Geissendörfer | Prod Comp: Kick the Machine, Illuminations Films, Anna Sanders Films, Match Factory Productions, Film- und Fernsehproduktion Geissendörfer | Sc: Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Cam: Diego Garcia | Ed: Lee Chatametikool | Prod Des: Akekarat Homlaor | Sound Des: Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr | With: Jenjira Pongpas Widner, Banlop Lomnoi, Jarinpattra Rueangram, Petcharat Chaiburi, Tawatchai Buawat, Sujittraporn Wongsrikeaw, Bhattaratorn Senkraigul | Sales: The Match Factory | Distr NL: Lumière | www.kickthemachine.com
Beyond the hypnotizing hum of fans in the sultry Thai heat and the calming appearance of dreamy apparitions and ghosts, Weerasethakul’s films have always had a political dimension. After the military coup of 2014, here it inevitably pushes more to the foreground. The setting is an old school in Weerasethakul’s hometown, where an improvised hospital has been set up for soldiers suffering from a mysterious sleeping disorder. The elderly volunteer Jen cherishes one of these young men as the son she never had and a medium reads their dreams. Two goddesses appear in the guise of young women and tell that underneath the hospital lies an age-old cemetery, where rulers of old fight out a pre-historic battle and rob the sleeping young men of their life force. Told in Weerasathakul’s gentle and calmly subversive style, these notes from the underground, besides attesting to his deep love of the culture he grew up in, also represent a fierce indictment of the authoritarian regime. Also see the installation Fireworks (Archives).
Under sandet Land of Mine Martin Zandvliet
Denmark, 2015 | colour, DCP, 100 min, Danish/ German/English Prod: Mikael Rieks, Malte Grunert | Prod Comp: Nordisk Film Production, Amusement Park Films | Sc: Martin Zandvliet | Cam: Camilla Hjelm Knudsen | Ed: Per Sandholt, Molly Marlene Stensgaard | Prod Des: Gitte Malling | Sound Des: Rasmus Winther Jensen, Johannes Elling Dam | Music: Sune Martin | With: Roland Møller, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman, Emil Belton, Oskar Belton | Sales: K5 International | Distr NL: Paradiso Filmed Entertainment (NL) | www. facebook.com/undersandet
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Filmmaker Martin Zandvliet incisively brings to life a willfully forgotten and shameful part of Danish history. It is the end of World War II and the occupation has left its marks, both on the Danish coast and in the minds of the people. Under the leadership of the callous sergeant Rasmussen (Roland Møller), a group of German boys – counter to the agreements of the Geneva Convention – are forced to risk their lives to make the beaches safe again. The serene Danish coastal landscapes, caught in crispy clear images, are regularly shaken up by explosions when another trembling, underfed hand has detonated a landmine. In a subtle manner, Zandvliet transforms the German teenagers from anonymous enemies to full-blooded characters. The bloodier the post-war battle ground becomes, the greater Rasmussen’s inner conflict. Owing to the outstanding performances of the entire cast, every scene of this factbased drama vibrates with urgency.
45TH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM