AfterDavid Lynch's waking nightmare of a movie,Mulholland Drive, was released in in 2001, I co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred in a now-lost short Film calledMulholland Drive Support Group, which is about a therapy group gathered to dissect Lynch's twisty narrative. Despite its reputation,Mulholland Driveisn't really all that confusing once you understand it's basic premise, and it's nowhere near as confounding as Lynch'sLost Highway(1997), which gets downright supernatural, orInland Empire(2006), which sent my short-film co-director running from the theater two and half hours into the three hour movie.
It's no surprise that David Lynch is a big influence on director Anucha Boonyawatana, whose moody film,The Blue Hour(2015), moves as slowly as some of Lynch's slower paced work and ratchets up the creep factor as things progress. That's not to say that Boonyawatana is a copycat. He has his own distinct voice—making us feel the film's blue hues—and practically every shot in the movie is like a painting, no doubt aided by his cinematographers, Chaiyapruek Chalermpornpanich and Kamolpan Ngiwtong, and production designer, Phairot Siriwath. The first eight minutes of the movie are dialogue-free, conveying its plot, main character, tone, and worldview through a series of precisely chosen images. Meaning is made through inference.
The first third ofThe Blue Hour, written by Boonyawatana and Waasuthep Ketpetch, unfolds like countless other gay coming-of-age movies that have found support on the LGBT festival circuit. Tam (Atthaphan Poonsawas), a gay student who is bullied by his classmates and nagged by his parents because of his homosexuality, hooks up with hunky Phum (Oabnithi Wiwattanawarang) at an abandoned recreation center (complete with a purportedly haunted swimming pool) after the two of them connect on the Internet. The guys bond quickly because of mutual attraction, similar feelings of alienation, and the same economic troubles.
But when Phum takes Tam to a garbage dump where his (Phum's) home used to be, things get weird. While Phum is off taking a piss, Tam sees the ground start to breathe, discovers a dead body, and is chased by crazed gunman.
As the pair grows close, things get weirder, nightmarish even. We're in Lynch territory, and we didn't even know how we got here.
The Blue Hour Official International Trailer
The Blue Houris definitely not for everyone, as its purposely languid pacing and potentially confusing narrative can test your patience. But once you realize that the story you're watching isn't necessarily told in a linear fashion and that Tam's point of view isn't necessarily reliable (exactly whatisthat pill his mother gives him near the beginning of the moviefor?), you might give in to Boonyawatana's vision and think about forming a support group to sort it all out later.
Thai Movie Central Rating
How to Watch the Full Movie (with Thai Audio and English Subtitles)
—Buy the DVD.
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—Also available to watch for Netflix subscribers.
Additional Notes
—The Thai title of this movie is อนธการ (transliteration: onthakan), which means "anatomy."
—The movie was nominated for a number ofThailand National Film Association Awards(a.k.a. Supannahong Awards), including Best Picture, Best Actor (Atthaphan Poonsawas), Best Supporting Actress (Djuangjai Hirunsri), Best Supporting Actor (Oabnithi Wiwattanawarang), Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing (Chonlasit Upanigkit and Anuphap Autta), Best Cinematography (Chaiyapruek Chalermpornpanich and Kamolpan Ngiwtong), Best Sound (Nopawat Likitwong and One Cool & Ramindra Sound Studio), Best Art Direction (Phairot Siriwath), and Best Score (Chapavich Temnitikul).
—The film also won awards from theFantasia Film Festival(New Flesh Award for Best First Feature/Special Mention for Anucha Boonyawatana) andFEST International Film Festival(Jury Prize-Frontiers Selection/Special Mention for Anucha Boonyawatana).
—The movie was screened in the Panorama section of the65th Berlin International Film Festival.
—Screenwriters: Anucha Boonyawatana, Waasuthep Ketpetch
—Director: Anucha Boonyawatana
—Cast: Atthaphan Poonsawas (Tam), Oabnithi Wiwattanawarang (Phum), Djuangjai Hirunsri (Mother), Panutchai Kittisatima (Tam's Brother), Nithiroj Simkamtom (Father)
—Genre: Drama, Horror, LGBT
—Running Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes
—Movie images and video © 185º Equator, G Village
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