Mysterious Object at Noon

Thematic Some Other Lives of Time Curated by RaMell Ross

In this formally inventive and dizzying feature, filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul embarks on a collective storytelling process. Early in the film, a woman recounts to the camera a painful moment from her past. When she’s finished, the filmmaker asks if she has other stories to tell, real or fictional. This invitation leads her to share a bizarre encounter in which a round object fell from a woman’s pocket and turned into a young boy. From there, Weerasethakul asks community members to continue telling the story, embellishing the narrative from the point where the last teller stopped. In the process of narrating fabricated events, the interviewees also reveal details about their own life experiences and perspectives, both in outright descriptions and through the narrative details they choose to ascribe to the tale of the young boy. Shot on 16mm black-and-white film, Mysterious Object at Noon moves between interviews and scenes where the fabricated story is acted out, while the construction of the story serves as a catalyst for revealing deeper truths.  ST

Director

Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Producers

Gridthiya Gaweewong, Mingmongkol Sonakul

Editors

Mingmongkol Sonakul, Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Cinematographers

Prasong Klimborron, Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Release Year

2000

Festival Year

2019

Country

Thailand

Run Time

89 minutes

Subtitled

Yes