CultureCritic talks to Apichatpong Weerasethakul...

Apichatpong Weerasethakul is a highly acclaimed Thai director who recently won the Palme d'Or award for his film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Weerasethakul’s films are often about Thailand and Thai culture, and he is known for being vocal in his criticism of the Thai government.

CultureCritic met him to talk about his approach to filmmaking, his influences and winning the most prestigious award in film.

Could you just tell us about how you developed the concept for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives?

I was inspired by a book called A Man Who Can Recall His Past Lives. It’s a thin book written by a monk and it is distributed in Thai villages. I have always been interested in how we remember things, and I always wanted to tackle the personal aspects of memory. Around 2006 or 2007, I had the opportunity to produce an artwork in the North East of Thailand, where I grew up. While there, I tried to find Uncle Boonmee’s relatives, although he died a long time ago. I only found his two sons, who didn’t give me enough information to justify a biographical movie, so I changed my approach and put a lot of myself in it. Like my other films [it’s about] my memories of the area, my father and of the media in that region…

This way of creating films is very much to do with your ­personal life – your feelings and emotions. Will you ever depart from this process of filmmaking and take a more objective approach?

I think it would be impossible because this is the way I know how to make films, and I think there’s still more to explore. As long as that’s the case, I think I’ll continue with this approach – although maybe it will transform into something else.

Why and how did you decide to use film as the medium to express yourself?

I tried painting, but I found film to be the most comfortable medium. I realised that when I was a teenager, but I didn’t know much about film then. When I went to study art in Chicago, I experimented with other mediums but returned to film. It’s the most magical… I’m a shy person and I think film is really a protector, a shield – the camera… Without film, it would be hard for me to interact with the world.

You’ve said that language is somewhat redundant in application to film, and that you’re not particularly comfortable with the idea of describing what you want to express. Is that an opinion that you still hold?

In general, yes. I think film is a young medium and it’s still attached to literature and theatre and other kinds of art; but I think film has its own character, which is really fascinating for me to explore.

Was there a film or a filmmaker who inspired you to become a filmmaker?

Many. From Steven Spielberg to European film directors. I was around 12 when E.T. came out and that was a real learning process. Also experimental films – the experimental American film group.

How do you feel that you relate to the heritage of Thai cinema and Thai filmmaking? Do you feel a part of a lineage?

I don’t know what Thai cinema is because the country has a history of mixing other cultures. Thai film has always been influenced by others, so even though the content is local, the style is Hollywood. You therefore have trends within each decade. In the 1970s there were Blaxploitation films in Thailand, for example. So I cannot say what ‘Thai’ is… maybe a shape-shifting animal.

Syndromes and a Century has distinctly Thai qualities in its gentleness and its meditative nature. Are you conscious of imbuing your work with such characteristics?

I am when it comes to colours, and the tone and rhythm of my films, but Syndromes and a Century was also about yearning. That film was a look back to a time before I was born. Most of my films are quite calm, and I think that reflects the only part of Thailand that I want to see. The country is now full of violence.

To what extent do you feel like a Thai man who documents what goes on in his country and his culture, as opposed to someone who actually objectively looks at Thailand as part of the international intelligentsia?

I always feel like an outsider in Thailand. I live there, but I think many people feel that there are many layers of reality in the country. I think people, the young generation especially, are aware of these layers, and they realise that we are not such a peaceful country. Sometimes you get lost within all the propaganda and nationalism, so for me it’s been very interesting to travel and re-educate myself about Thai history, because at school the education was very backward

Can you conceive making a film outside of Thailand?

It would be interesting and challenging to work in other countries, but how would I plant myself somewhere else? I’m 40 and the Internet became popular when I was 30, so I still have a ‘big world’ mentality. However, I am always sceptical of people who come to Thailand to shoot films – the likes of Oliver Stone. There’s something very touristy about it…

What influences you, outside of film?

Art and literature. I stopped listening to music because I enjoy ambient sound – although I use songs in my movies sometimes. For entertainment I think that listening to people is more interesting. And I read a lot, especially Japanese literature.

This film has been such a success, winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Do you feel any nervousness about following it?

No, because I question myself with every film, and ask myself, ‘is this a real career now?’ I feel comfortable at present, but I will still be happy if I am not able to make another film, and can do other things instead. I don’t put the pressure on myself.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is released on 19 November 2010. To read the latest reviews, click here.