Invisible Waves

[sabaijai]

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's latest film Invisible Waves premiered at the opening night of the Bangkok International Film Festival last night. Very slow but beautiful. It's not my favorite Pen-Ek by a long shot - looks to me as if he let cinematographer Christopher Doyle call the shots, like a jazz band where the saxophonist takes all the solos. Worth seeing but the story is rather flat (for that the blame goes to Prabda Yoon, who seems to write the same story again and again). Pen-Ek has much talent, but I think he's still searching for his director's voice. My favourite Pen-Ek films remain Fun Bar Karaoke, 69 and Mon Rak Transistor.

Lots of celebs in town for the festival, more than last year. Oliver Stone is back, while BKK newbies include Willem Dafoe, Terry Gilliam, Catherine Deneuve and Christopher Lee. Oliver Stone is giving a 'master class'.

The program seems better organised than in previous years, with the listings arranged thematically in the actual printed program, which helps negotiate the long lists of titles. All the films will be screened in the Siam Paragon Cineplex, which makes logistics easier than in past years as well. Have yet to see how the ticketing process works, as I attended the screening last night by invite.