Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, whose films have been included in the contemporary masters category in the 14th IFFK, likes to play a magician. A magician, who allures his audience with urban dramas that have a brilliant imagery and almost surrealistic dark narratives. Here are some excerpts from a conversation that Expresso had with this master filmmaker from Thailand.
Q: ‘Invisible Waves’ had some stunning images, static camera and long shots that it was visually just perfect. But it almost seemed like you were afraid of light and more comfortable with the dark.
A: Looking back, I remember we had decided on it in the post-production stage, as an experiment. You see, the journey itself is quite dark with the character having to deal with all the guilt of a murder.
We also discovered something else in the post-production that the film had a strange motif of vertical lines to it - steps from Keoji’s home, the climb on his way to work, the tram near the restaurant and we decided to make use of that too. That’s how the basket with the knife is drawn up, the shirt is drawn down, the money is drawn up and so on.
Q: You had the advantage of having Christopher Doyle doing the cinematography of the film. How hard or how easy is it working with him?
A: Having Christopher Doyle doing the cinematography is like both a gift and a punishment. He is more of an ‘image-person’ and not so much of a ‘film-person’. He has strong opinions and we used to fight a lot. And after working with him in one film, I get so exhausted that I am in the bed for at least a fortnight (laughs). But seriously, I love him and he loves me.
Q: The actor had a dead stony face and was least convincing as a person troubled by remorse. And the audience always felt a certain distance from the characters. Is it because the camera dominated over the film?
A: Well, I made ‘Invisible Waves’ during a time when I gave more importance to the atmosphere of the film. Maybe it’s because of that. It could also be because of the fact that this was one film that was shot so totally out of sequence. There were actors from different countries and we could not do it in sequence as my other films.
Q: Faulty showers, flipping beds, locked doors - we see a lot of these in the film, especially after it takes a sharp turn psychologically. What was the intention?
A: We had wanted strange things to happen to this character. You would also have noticed him getting lost in the ship and smoke coming into his room when the ship was about to start the journey. All these things could or could not have happened. Probably all this happened in his head, because of his guilt, because of his weakness. Probably he wished for all the bad things to happen to him so that he can pay for what he did.
Q: The female lead character in this film has the name Noi. So does at least two of your other films. What makes you so fond of the name?
A: Well, in Thailand, Noi means little and it is a very common name. When I write the script, I couldn’t be bothered thinking about names. I just use Noi, thinking that I would change it later. But most of the time I forget about changing it and the name sticks.
Q: You studied art history at the Pratt Institute in New York. What triggered the transition from art history to art movies?
A: Federico Fellini’s ‘8 1/2’. I saw the movie, didn’t understand a thing, but fell for it like crazy. I was a student then, living in New York and could hardly afford to see movies. But I saw it thrice, three days in a row and I thought hey, you can make films like this too. Then it was Bergman, Godard, Antonioni....
Q: You gave up your ambition to be a football player but have not given up on magic. How do you incorporate elements of magic to your films?
A: I create magic in a way that at times I deceive my audience. For example, in the film ‘Invisible Waves’, you see the whole journey in a ship, it is almost another character in the movie, but we had no ship to shoot. The only problem is that filmmaking is too expensive a magic show!
reema_narendran@expressbuzz.com
