Syndromes and a Century

More tonal poem than narrative, Syndromes's bifurcated structure explores the distance between the fertile/feminine, the mechanical/masculine. The camera proves a medium between the two, capturing the same exchanges from startling, unexpected angles. The visual convergence of solar eclipse and dark pipe suggests a blurring of time and space and even subjectivity. Visual representation of Buddhist cyclicality, rural/urban discordance, our inability to learn from our mistakes? Dunno, but I love it

Contemplative, mysterious, and beautifully heartfelt. I love films that employ these kind of meditative rhythms, and I love films whose mysteries invite you to revisit them. The structure of this movie is unlike any other I've seen before. One pays special attention to the mirroring instances between the two stories, many of which are done in subtle ways. The photography invokes an eerie blend of the peaceful and the vaguely unsettling, and the performances are all very naturalistic.

What the fuck did I just watch? It's certainly an original film, with not much in the way of narrative, or characters...there's definitely a structure to it, and the way the two halves parallel is interesting, even if not quite understandable. I don't know how to rank this. On the one hand, most of it was relentlessly boring. On the other hand, certain scenes did...something to me. They were oddly entrancing, somehow unsettling, bizarre, and natural all at once. I can't describe it.

this felt alien to me

Bizarre, surreal, serene, and beautiful. You can also say it's confusing as hell but it becomes less frustrating if you acknowledge there is no narrative structure. There is a very buddhist element to this film and it has a theme of balance and rebirth. Unfortunately, this is nearly indecipherable outside of the film buff community. One interesting scene is the jarring transition in the mirror story from reserved traditional courtship to making out in physician's overcoats.

Last Year at Thailandienbad

Almost reminiscent of a low-voiced, unhurried Sans Soleil... To watch a Weerasethakul is almost to sink into another dimension. Constantly meditative, strangely playful and uncommonly tolerant, it's an absorbing, stunning film.

Monks who wanted to be DJs and solar eclipses.

Impossible to nail down with just a single viewing; its enigmatic structure and lack of concrete narrative make it almost frustratingly mysterious but it's got a haunting, lingering quality that stuck with me afterward. I can tell that this will greatly benefit from repeat viewings - and am already itching to watch it again.

Love, trauma--sometimes suffered due to unreciprocation of love, and other times relating to issues of a military nature--isolation/ spiritual detachment, and the process of healing, each are pieces of a puzzle I unfortunately didn't discover the last part of until the last 20 minutes. Industrialization, this last piece, reveals that stated, other components partially are its emergent properties, among other things, and does so in an extremely subdued an highly innovative manner.

Better seen at speeds between 1.3 and 1.5. Took me about 12hs to finish (naps included).

Love the mirroring of events that goes on in both halves of the film, a technique that is also mirrored (sorry) in the visual design. The director uses reflections, but also flips the position of the camera in some of the mirrored scenes of the film's second half. Love the meditative nature of films like this, films that invite us to contemplate the simple beauties of our world.

An astounding juxtaposition of the timeless, static earth and the phenotype microcosm. Leaves you breathless in its scope. The second part contains perplexing, perhaps highly autobiographical and abstract metaphor. I get the impression that the result doesn't quite meet the director's idealised standard, but the presentation is no deterrent to accessibility. I've seen it twice now, but I expect to watch it many more times, and am quite sure my score will rise with each viewing.

Gorgeous concern with the various landscapes and surfaces of life: natural, artificial, spiritual. The rural half was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

A slow, beautiful, humble revealing of Being in time. Amazing.

Have a feeling I will like it better on a second viewing, but for now this was a slight disappointment. Still, very good.

A very unique, emotional and thoughtful film. You can't always make complete sense of what's going on but it's still captivating to watch and definitely gives off that feeling that multiple viewings will be rewarding.

has an idiosyncratic way of communicating that is charming at times and off putting at others, but it comes together (especially when leaning against the second half) to create a beautiful and meditative product

the scene, where souls absorbed in to the black hole!

The ending can almost bring a tear to your eye

It would be easy to look at this as some criticism of how modernity can be taken too far. In my mind this is far too prescriptive and reductive an approach to looking at this film though, stripping it of some of its magic. There is something more affecting going on here beneath the film's quiet rhythms that for me and for now defies clear definition. Something cyclical and of rebirth, rendered in tones of somewhere else entirely. A world we were familiar with somehow born alien around us.

A movie that doesn't boast much of a plot, but presents memories and feelings in such a nuanced and intriguing way that makes it hard not to feel attached. You feel like an observer of the daily lives of these people, and it's presented with such a great sense of artistic flavor that it's worth watching for its beauty alone. However, while there is a great sense of emotional involvement throughout the film, scenes can feel repetitive at times and the plotlines are barebones. Great film otherwise

didn't get it

Interesting experience, but didn’t quite engage me.

Visit your local park today!

It's a little less abstract than I expected, until the very end. Still, for all its difficulty in having to watch it, there are some great shots.

[–]Yet we might, if we would, lead our appetite on through the vein of the coral or the heaven-sent nude. Tomorrow our passion is rock, and Time, a wind come to sleep in the branches. Frederico García Lorca.

21 Temmuz 2011 & ask ile ilgili bir film degil. hafiza ile ilgili de oldugunu sanmiyorum. yonetmen, her zaman icin mekan-zaman iliskisine kafayi takmis durumda. burada da olaylar, karakterler benzer kalsa da film ikiye ayriliyor ve yonetmen zaman ve mekani degistirerek seyirciye farkli bir deneyim sunuyor. asil soru, ilk bolum mu yoksa 'a century' sonraki bolum mu insanlik adina daha dogru oldugu? zaman degistikce, mekanlar modernlestikce, insan iliskileri daha da mi yapaylasiyor? sanirim evet.

"The film functions not only as a loving tribute to the past, but as Weerasethakul's attempt at experiential preservation." - Nick Schager

An another boring film.

hikaye once pastoral bir hastanede, sonra ise modern sehirde yeniden basliyor. ilk basta camdan disarida yesili goruyorken beyaz koridorlar var sonrasinda. kiz arkadasi doktora daha da tekno bir kente tasinmayi teklif edince yeraltina iniyoruz. isik iyice yapaylasiyor havalandirma borularina sikisiyoruz. finali de belki yonetmenin cozum onerisi

Unlike most films I see, I didn't feel like a voyeur, but an actual observer, waiting for my turn for whatever I was doing in each room, or watching with everyone else in the film what I was watching. Instead of waiting for anything to happen, I was waiting with everyone else while I was waiting for whatever I had to do in that room and watching whatever they were doing.

good movie

beautifully slow and atmospheric, though not quite as good as blissfully yours. would benefit from a rewatch as i found it difficult to follow and theres certainly a lot of depth to it.

I found this super boring. This is the second Weerasethakul I've seen and the other one was boring for me, too. He might just not be for me.

Tremendous. There is fun to be had thinking about the contrasts between the first and second "halves" of the film; the restrained direction keeps it accessible and gives the slight story room to breathe. The performances are similarly controlled and low-key, which makes the characters appear very natural and believable. The flashes of surreality lend colour and mood to the film. I'm sure I haven't come close to grasping all the themes and ideas, but I'm sure a rewatch will be worthwhile.

(spoilers) The first half depicts characters in a traditional (rural) syndrome. A "century" later and the same characters appear (reincarnated) live with a modern syndrome. Basically, the film strongly suggest that the former is more humane and more alive. That's my take on the film anyway.