Syndromes and a Century

2006

1h 44m

Drama

List

89%

Tomatometer

44 Reviews

78%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

Dr. Nohng (Jaruchai Iamaram) joins the staff of a small, isolated clinic in Thailand after being interviewed by harried female Dr. Toey (Nantarat Sawaddikul), growing closer to her and dentist Dr. Ple (Arkanae Cherkam), who once dreamed of being a country singer. In the film's second half, Nohng is once again questioned by Toey before receiving a job, this time in a more urban setting. Working alongside alcoholic Dr. Wan (Wanna Wattanajinda), Nohng settles into his new routine.

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Critics Consensus

Despite having little in the way of narrative, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Syndromes is a poignant and mesmerizing memoir.

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Ben Kenigsberg

Time Out

Rated: 5/5

Nov 17, 2011

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Sukhdev Sandhu

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Don't watch it for plot, or character development; revel instead in its evocation of warm, wistful moods, its sly sense of humour and its fierce commitment to creating a mystical cinema far from the orthodoxies of both independent and mainstream cinema.

Sep 21, 2007

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

Don't think of it as film. Think of it as a series of paintings that talk to each other, raptly and quietly.

Sep 21, 2007

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Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

A fleeting shadow, an elusive memory fading as the mind slips into sleep, a long lost lover reborn in a dream.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 6, 2019

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The pic has a Buddhist aura surrounding it, leaving a warm and happy feeling with the viewer.

Rated: A

Feb 7, 2008

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Bill Weber

Stylus Magazine

A quieter, shorter but scarcely less idiosyncratic specimen of Rorschach cinema than Inland Empire.

Rated: B

Dec 1, 2007

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Audience Member

There was something relaxing and satisfying about how comfortable the director is with just letting slow scenes and dialogue play out, but I wasn’t really engaged, and, after seeing Uncle Boonmee I’m not sure if I just don’t understand the director or Thai culture at all - I was so confused by some of the conversations and characters casual responses to seemingly outrageous comments, actions, or conversational turns.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/19/20

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Audience Member

Inspirado en la historia de amor de sus padres, Apichatpong Weerasethakul cuenta tres historias de amor diferentes pero que confluyen en un mismo cauce. Gran narrativa, sencilla, profunda, reflexiva.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

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Audience Member

3.8/5 Ive always felt its terribly dangerous for a film to explore the contrast of a situation over another through direct exposure to its dreariness, but aside from moments where the poetry strayed too far from what it had established, it was quite mesmerizing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

Syndromes and a Century is an enigmatic invitation into Apichatpong Weerasethakul's realm of minimalism and uniqueness.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Audience Member

My second film from Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul. "Loong Boonmee raleuk chat" or "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" was my first one and I expected a lot from it. It never lived up to it, so I had doubts about this one. It's a different type of film. It's gentle, mysterious, quite weird and experimental when it comes to techniques of scene selection and tempo. We follow some doctors at a hospital. Weerasethakul's parents is in real life doctors, so this has been known as some sort of biography on that matter. Doctors are very much human beings and here we get into their lives as a more personal matter. The popular doctor Toey seem in center of it, but other doctors and some patients are on the screen too. It's a romatic vibe here but the biggest vibe I get is some sort of calmness as it put's me in a trance with it's super slow panning shots and it's music. Shot's turn out from the conversations or move around in the building while nice dialogues keeps you interested. I dig that repeated conversation thing and I love the black hole scene. Many great scenes, some weirder, some funnier than others. A lovely shot film, mesmerizing and calm - that takes your head to other destinations. Impressive stuff. 8 out of 10 orchids.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The emperor has no clothes, and I can't see any point in trying to look for a purpose in this infuriating and self-indulgent experiment that finds itself much more original and inventive than it is but has the same effect of random images of just about anything on a blank screen.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

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Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Director

Nantarat Sawaddikul

Actor

Arkanae Cherkam

Actor

Jaruchai Iamaram

Actor

Sakda Kaewbuadee

Actor

Wanna Wattanajinda

Actor

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RT on DVD: Good Luck Chuck, Mr. Woodcock, Family Guy Goes Star Wars!

Critical Consensus: Check In With "Vacancy"; "Fracture" Is Solid; "Fuzz" is Hot; "Women" Is Not

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Synopsis

Dr. Nohng (Jaruchai Iamaram) joins the staff of a small, isolated clinic in Thailand after being interviewed by harried female Dr. Toey (Nantarat Sawaddikul), growing closer to her and dentist Dr. Ple (Arkanae Cherkam), who once dreamed of being a country singer. In the film's second half, Nohng is once again questioned by Toey before receiving a job, this time in a more urban setting. Working alongside alcoholic Dr. Wan (Wanna Wattanajinda), Nohng settles into his new routine.

Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Screenwriter: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Thai
Release Date (DVD): Jan 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.3K
Runtime: 1h 44m