CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR

A group of soldiers sets up camp in an abandoned school turned makeshift hospital. Strangely, some are afflicted with a mysterious sickness that plunges them into a deep sleep. Rumour has it that underneath the building is an ancient cemetery of kings whose ghosts amuse themselves by meddling with the fate of the living. Jen, a volunteer nurse, arrives and takes a shine to one of the soldiers, Itt. When he regains consciousness, Itt shows his caregiver a world that oscillates between dreams and reality. Like a druid brewing a potion whose ingredients only he knows, the Thai filmmaker, who rose to prominence in 2010 with his Palme d’or for Oncle Boonmee, once again flexes his ability to fascinate with a characteristic blend of popular beliefs woven into a bewitched world. In this new film, he returns to his home region to reveal haunted places where magic and spiritualism mingle with the sounds of luxuriant nature. Like his previous films, Cemetery of Splendour is driven by the ineffable depth of Buddhist philosophy. A film that presents itself as an antidote to the frenetic pace of modern life