The post-viewing reflection on Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's (Last Life in the Universe, 6ixty9) latest film, a creepy languid drama called Nymph is actually better than the film itself. I happen to quite like the directors fish-out-of-water scenarios and lengthy silent reflections en route. Instead of Tadanobu Asano (albeit, Jayanama Noachai's performance is quite reminiscent of the famous Japanese actor) fleeing the country for one reason or another, we are given one of these implacable nature stories with long shots of blowing branches and spiritually haunted trees (note for those attending TIFF, there are only loose parallels to Lars von Trier's Antichrist, and one of them is the striking 'sex in the roots of the tree' which is almost exact duplicate of the image (and I am sure one of those weird parallel co-incidences), except here the 'evil lass' is on top.
Nop and May have been married long enough that their relationship has fallen into a sex-free malaise, and May has been secretly having intimate after-hours trysts with her boss. On a camping vacation (perhaps Nop's attempt to get May back to nature and off the pharmaceuticals, but the film drops this subplot quickly enough), Nop gets lost in the woods and separated from his wife while taking photos of a very strange looking tree. When the absence stretches past a day, May calls the park rangers; a competent enough pair who have encountered several of these disappearances, to the point where they have sort of lost track of the number of hikers and tourists who they cannot locate in the sprawling park. One of them has a warding charm around his neck to keep the forest spirits at bay. We know there actually are malicious spirits in this forest from the dynamite opening shot of the film, which lasts almost an entire reel in a single take shot. The bit of showy (but effective) camerawork starts the film off with a visceral kick that the director has no interest in really following up. Instead, Nymph becomes more of an Edgar Allen Poe tale of infidelity, and guilt manifesting itself in the titular forest creature (earthy, nude, fierce). Things get interesting when Nop shows back up randomly in their apartment with an obsession for plants and now living on a diet of only water.
Not overly interested in jump scares or horror tropes (although May does venture into the dark on several occasions, it is more implacable than scary), instead the film becomes a symbol-heavy meditation on infidelity and how one can perhaps fall back in love in the wake of a large enough calamity. The ending is ambiguous enough to underscore that the future is probably going to be ugly, but perhaps still salvageable if all parties learn from the experience.
The movie requires a fair bit of patience, and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang makes a few errors of judgement, that if we stare at something long enough it will start to acquire meaning (I imagine that the 15 minutes longer Cannes Cut of the film is much more restless experience) but in the end the film comes together quite solidly in the thematic department. Those who enjoyed Antti-Jussi Annila's Sauna and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Chrisma (also using a tree as a potent metaphor) should find a lot chew on in Nymph.
Nop and May have been married long enough that their relationship has fallen into a sex-free malaise, and May has been secretly having intimate after-hours trysts with her boss. On a camping vacation (perhaps Nop's attempt to get May back to nature and off the pharmaceuticals, but the film drops this subplot quickly enough), Nop gets lost in the woods and separated from his wife while taking photos of a very strange looking tree. When the absence stretches past a day, May calls the park rangers; a competent enough pair who have encountered several of these disappearances, to the point where they have sort of lost track of the number of hikers and tourists who they cannot locate in the sprawling park. One of them has a warding charm around his neck to keep the forest spirits at bay. We know there actually are malicious spirits in this forest from the dynamite opening shot of the film, which lasts almost an entire reel in a single take shot. The bit of showy (but effective) camerawork starts the film off with a visceral kick that the director has no interest in really following up. Instead, Nymph becomes more of an Edgar Allen Poe tale of infidelity, and guilt manifesting itself in the titular forest creature (earthy, nude, fierce). Things get interesting when Nop shows back up randomly in their apartment with an obsession for plants and now living on a diet of only water.
Not overly interested in jump scares or horror tropes (although May does venture into the dark on several occasions, it is more implacable than scary), instead the film becomes a symbol-heavy meditation on infidelity and how one can perhaps fall back in love in the wake of a large enough calamity. The ending is ambiguous enough to underscore that the future is probably going to be ugly, but perhaps still salvageable if all parties learn from the experience.
The movie requires a fair bit of patience, and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang makes a few errors of judgement, that if we stare at something long enough it will start to acquire meaning (I imagine that the 15 minutes longer Cannes Cut of the film is much more restless experience) but in the end the film comes together quite solidly in the thematic department. Those who enjoyed Antti-Jussi Annila's Sauna and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Chrisma (also using a tree as a potent metaphor) should find a lot chew on in Nymph.
More from Nymph
- Reviews: Vancouver 09: NYMPH Review
- Reviews: Cannes 09: NYMPH Review
Must be getting old that I find myself more inclined to take in these slow burn, methodically paced films. Huge fan of both Sauna and Charisma. Not to mention Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's Last Life in the Universe fits the category.
As I read these comparisons and see E.A. Poe bandied about I'm along for the ride.
I am curious to read what the major differences are between the longer cut that played Cannes and this one that screened in Toronto.
This is the better version, and it's the one that Pen-ek now intends for people to see.
The longer Cannes version was rushed through editing to make it to the festival on time.
I was lucky to see both versions in Bangkok. The chief difference is that in the Cannes version the couple takes longer to get to the woods, stopping in a hotel for one night during the drive. There are also scenes of Nop rounding up photo supplies for his trip. And a scene where May's boss-lover leaves his wife. These are "nice" scenes to see, but hardly vital to the story and are even redundant. It's easy to see why they were cut.
Also, there is no score. You don't realize the "Director's Cut" -- that's the new version -- has a score until you watch the Cannes version without one. It's actually kind of cool how that works.
By the way, there's review just like this one on another website but under a different name. So, sorry for asking this question, but who's writing this?
Wisekwai, if the site was RowThree it's still Kurt who wrote it.
Most of us here at Twitch double-time at some other sites as well.
YEs, what ard said!
Oh and the difference between the Cannes version and this version may be a 'Brown Bunny' (or for that matter Inglorious Basterds) type of situation, that the director honed and found the movie in the span of time between one festival where it was a 'work-in-progress' and the later festival that it was the 'final' (if that is ever the case!) version.
I truly enjoyed this film in all its eeriness. At the beginning I had to readjust how I was experiencing it and just let go and watch the story unfold, rather than try and anticipate where it was going. Then it became this beautiful story with so many visuals that I was left with the urge to poke my neighbour and ask if he was seeing what I was seeing. You could feel and see the spirit of the women in the trees. It was their story and the real actors did an excellent job of enhancing, and not overshadowing, this other character in the film.
Yeah, it was Row Three. I figured it must've been Kurt since I see his name around over there too. Still finding my way around this place called the Internet.
I agree with Sabrinag: This film takes adjusting to, like being in a new city, or in this case, a patch of woods you've never visited before. And then there's the realness of it. I swear I can smell the earth when I think about this movie.
Wisekwai, just checked out the different posts you have for Nymph on your blog. Extremely informative and an interesting read. Also, on a completely different note, read through the info regarding Meat Grinder. I found that to be a great little film, too. A lot going on for it visually: almost as if Wong Kar Wai reinvented Untold Story from a damaged female's perspective.