Weerasethakul's latest has received mixed responses on the film-festival circuit, yet while it's anything but commercial, it's also anything but unadventurous.
90
Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
A spellbinding, beautiful, enigmatic film with a mysterious, allusive two-part structure.
88
New York PostV.A. Musetto
New York PostV.A. Musetto
If you enjoy intelligent, challenging filmmaking, Tropical Malady is for you.
80
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Like "Blissfully Yours" and Apichatpong's first feature, the exquisite-corpse road movie "Mysterious Object at Noon" (2000), Tropical Malady promotes new ways of seeing.
"All of us are by nature wild beasts. We must be like animal trainers and teach ourselves tricks alien to our bestiality." Cutting-edge Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul uses this quote from the novelist Ton Nakajima to introduce his entrancing third feature.
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
It took me two viewings to enjoy the landscape of Weerasethakul's mysterious jungle -- so very thick, steamy, and foreign -- without wishing for clearer trail markers.
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
This challenging, inventive movie from Thailand is not for everyone.
40
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Certainly for most audiences the viewing experience will prove not only tedious but bewildering.