Syndromes and a Century

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Audience Member Syndromes and a Century (S̄æng ṣ̄atawǎat, literally Light of the Century) is a 2006 Thai drama film directed and written by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The film stars Nantarat Sawaddikul, Jaruchai Iamaram, Sophon Pukanok and Jenjira Pongpas. It was edited and narrated by Lee Chatametikool. It was distributed by Fortissimo Films and Strand Releasing. It premiered on August 30th, 2006, at the 63rd Venice Film Festival. In November, 2009, the film was named by Toronto International Film Festival's Cinematheque as the best of the decade, as voted by more than sixty international film historians, archivists, curators, and programmers. At the inaugural Asian Film Awards in 2007 in Hong Kong, the film won the Best Editor award for Lee Chatametikool. It was also nominated for best director and best cinematographer. In Thailand, Syndromes and a Century became controversial after the Board of Censors demanded that four scenes be cut in order for the film to be shown commercially. The director refused to cut the film and withdrew it from domestic release. Vision wrote: "a big clinic in a village. A bunch of walks and talks. Enjoying the local scenery. The best moment was in the eclipse of the moon. Other than that, the film was warm but overly exhausting to watch. More like a docudrama than a film. Admire the haunting statues. Admire the characters of the film. Dentists, nurses, doctors, patients, hospital heads and executives, workers, cleaners, amputees and even sexual fantasies. Its all covered in this big clinic. The first part is set in a hospital in rural Thailand, while the second half is set in a Bangkok medical center. Two and a half fries!" Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 06/17/25 Full Review S R A slow and reflective film. But it was interesting to see a Thai perspective on healthcare and courting. It was on the IMDb 250 list, but I don't think it should be. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 04/01/25 Full Review 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 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 09/19/20 Full Review 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 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review 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 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Syndromes and a Century is an enigmatic invitation into Apichatpong Weerasethakul's realm of minimalism and uniqueness. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Syndromes and a Century

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