Syndromes and a Century

It's been quite a while since I last watched a Weerasethakul film. While there's clear potential there, Weerasethakul's style is quite specific and appeals to a very particular niche of film fans. There's an overlap with my taste, but it's fickle and it seems to be diminishing over time. Syndromes and a Century is one of Weerasethakul's earlier films, so I figured I could give it a shot.

The film is split in two distinct parts. One is set in an old, rural and homely hospital, the other in a very modern, urban hospital facility. There seems to be an overlap in characters, stories and events, with each setting having a slightly different effect on the scenes that play out. That's just not the premise, that's the entire plot right there.

Weerasethakul is all about mood and whenever there's a soundtrack present he nails it. The score is amazing and works well with the slow, meandering visuals, but whenever the music fades away, so does the atmosphere. The cinematography feels too unpolished to carry the film by itself, which is my biggest complaint. The plot and characters aren't very interesting either, then again that's not really what Weerasethakul's films are about. There are some very strong and captivating scene here, it just isn't very consistent.