Paul Magne Haakonsen It was initially the synopsis of the movie that made me give "Cemetery of Splendor" (aka "Rak ti Khon Kaen") a chance and sat down to watch it, plus the fact that it is a Thai movie - as I do enjoy Asian cinema quite a lot."Cemetery of Splendor" is a rather slow paced movie, and there is very little happening, so it becomes a rather tiresome affair to keep focus on the movie and it is a struggle to have the interest maintained on the storyline. And running at two hours, then your will to continue will be challenged to its limits. I found myself checking the time stamp of the progress of the movie frequently because it felt like an eternity of getting nowhere in the movie. I managed to get almost halfway through the movie before I gave up out of complete and utter hopelessness and boredom.The characters in the movie seemed fairly one-dimensional and were lacking personalities and outstanding traits. They could essentially have been portrayed by one and the same actor, because it was hard to differentiate the individual characters. The audience can't really connect with the characters in the movie as they are essentially faceless and one-dimensional, so you have no bond or association to the characters. And it didn't help that most of the dialogue throughout the movie was delivered with a lack of convicting and impact. It became a bit too much when you saw a guy sitting in the bush and actually defecating. Sure, I know that this is how it is done in certain parts of rural Thailand, but come on, this was a scene that was not necessary to show on the screen, and it served absolutely no purpose for the story.I will say that the actors and actresses in the movie were doing good enough jobs with their roles and characters, despite being so hindered by a lack of thorough script and storyline.The pacing of the movie was unfathomably slow, as I stated earlier, and prolonged shots of people sleeping, rural landscapes with nothing happening, random people exercising in the park, and other such pointless things didn't really help to improve the movie in any way. "Cemetery of Splendor" is slow and uneventful to say the least. However, despite this dull and mind-numbing slow pace, then there is something aesthetic and profound about the movie and its editing.I think what writer and director Apichatpong Weerasethakul was trying to accomplish with this movie was lost on me, or somehow lost in transition.

magnusdickerson Such a beautiful film visually, but also because of it's humanity and compassion.From the opening scene, which is not a scene at all but a blank screen with no sound for over a minute, then there is sound, then there is light - an extremely mundane scene in an ordinary but beautiful landscape, our senses and conceptions are being manipulated and influenced. The opening frames the most basic theme in the movie to me: sound. For so much of the movie there is no dialogue but sound. Sight and sound: the natural ambient sound of whatever environment is being depicted at the moment. Your sub or subtle consciousness is constantly invited out. The beauty, aura, serenity and power of the mundane, even to the "ordinariness" of the people inhabiting this commonplace realm of dirt, backhoes, work, chickens, weeds, children, parks, shrines, struggle, etc ... , penetrates. The juxtaposition and contradiction of the surreal sleeping soldiers and the world of Kings and Emperors at war they inhabit as they sleep, highlight the depth of the day to day ordinary. Here, the commonplace is just lived, with longing and bewilderment, automatically deferring to the greatness of that other world in the numerous ways it manifests, but more majestic and profound than anything the other-world has to offer. I guess it's not too profound to observe the symbolism of the soldiers living in a dreamworld of exalted beings and affairs, but asleep in this one.The emphasis on the senses, ambiance, atmosphere stays with you. When I left the theater, I stood in front for at least 30 minutes not walking or talking, but just observing the world anew, but especially 'listening.' It was like coming out of a week long silent meditation retreat where one's senses are so highly attuned and all the gates of perception seem open and new.The everyday people of the world depicted here are sad, and see themselves as insignificant and lowly. And, it's sad they don't realize, as this movie shows us, they are everything!

FUYIN I didn't vote for this movie with a lots of scores since it's not a movie suitable for all the people. I didn't mean there are some limited level stuff, but just not all the people can understand or just have the patience to understand the materials and the message this movie would want us to see. Well, frankly speaking, for this director, this movie is already easy and simple enough. Because this director really enjoy to tell a story in this kind of way and created an atmosphere mixed with both mystery and holy stuff. I think there just one part I would like to say and hope it is not count as spoiler. At the end of the movie , when the Keng and the old lady sit on the chair and Kend was licking her leg. My understanding about that is the spirit of the lady is already gone , which replaced by the Keng's spirit. And Keng's body is filled by the spirit of the man laying on the bed. They have some love issues with each other an that is why they are licking each other. That is just my perspective, hope people could understand and just take that as a comments .

Sergeant_Tibbs Apichatpong Weerasethakul had been on my radar after the elusive critical praise for his earlier work that seem fit only for lists like They Shoot Pictures. He doesn't seem to satisfy general audiences in the same way, despite winning at Cannes for Uncle Boonmee. Ostensibly his most personal film, Cemetery of Splendour seemed like a good start. It was certainly an introduction to his ambiguity which Splendour indulges in at every opportunity. It's very rich with its themes, though you have to go with the flow on its spirituality, belief in past lives and superstition, but those themes don't necessarily feel like they string together. More knowledge on Thai politics, history and culture would certainly help to arrive at a concise interpretation, but it does have enough universalities.There is, however, a fascinating way it contrasts past and present simultaneously. That's its best ambiguous angle. Each shot can be its own individual thought rather than giving myself headaches trying to piece it together. Weerasethakul at least has a wonderful sense of poetic composition and juxtaposition, his choice of a rainbow light aiding him in many senses. But besides the calm and often profound nature of the film, what makes it strike a nerve is the deeply resonating performance from his lead Jenjira Pongpas. She balances humour with empathetic emotion with nuanced ease and anchors the film in her relateability despite her unique situation with her tumurous leg. Cemetery certainly gives a lot to chew on.8/10