FILMS/
STORIES FROM THE NORTH
Reanglao Jak Meangnue
Documentaries
Thailand, 2005, 88 minutes
SHOWTIMES
Tue, May 1 / 12:30 / Kabuki / STOR01K
Fri, May 4 / 06:45 / Kabuki / STOR04K
Wed, May 9 / 07:00 / PFA / STOR09P
CREDITS
- prod
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Uruphong Raksasad
- scr
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Uruphong Raksasad
- cam
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Uruphong Raksasad
- editor
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Uruphong Raksasad
- mus
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Padang Bicycle Group Band
- cast
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Kon Chaitha, Sak Punkum, Tun Kongwan
- source
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Uruphong Raksadad, 17/300 Moo 5 Klong 5, Klong Loung, 12120 Pathum Tani, Thailand EMAIL: uruphong_r@hotmail.com
Eight pastoral vignettes make up this leisurely and benevolent stroll through Thailand’s rural north country, where time slows down and the changing seasons dictate the day’s chores from dawn to dead of night. An old woman tells her friend that, at 84, she’s got nothing to regret and is eager to die in her sleep; still, she takes pleasure in conversation, eating and just sitting around with her cat. A pack of youngsters on scooters harass a wayward buffalo, breaking the monotony of an old man’s day of tending livestock. Kids on vacation watch an old woman catch fish by day and tell each other gruesome ghost stories by night. Paddy-field workers scythe and bundle tall grass, taking a break for lunch and a round of song—and maybe a siesta—before cheerfully wading back into work. A priest blesses an elderly bicycle-touring club, saying he never sees young people because they are always busy at work. An old man carries his complaining grandson on his back through tall grasses. "This is the old way," he says. "Not much longer now." There’s no cause for impatience here; time is taken up with back-breaking rice-paddy work, tending of buffalo, eating (growl-inducing) meals by hand, playing music and getting plenty of rest—preferably in a hammock with a sleeping cat draped over one’s chest. The young leave for Bangkok on their scooters, and the old stay on for a more tranquil life in this lovely and constantly changing landscape.
—Frako Loden
U.S. Premiere.