Blissfully Yours | |
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The Thai film poster.
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Directed by | Apichatpong Weerasethakul |
Produced by | Eric Chan Charles de Meaux |
Written by | Apichatpong Weerasethakul |
Starring | Kanokporn Thong-aram Min Oo Jenjira Jansuda |
Cinematography | Sayombhu Mukdeeprom |
Edited by | Lee Chatametikool |
Distributed by | Kick the Machine Anna Sanders Films |
Release date
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May 17, 2002 (France) August 13, 2002 (Thailand) |
Running time
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125 minutes |
Country | Thailand |
Language | Thai |
Blissfully Yours (Thai: สุดเสน่หา S̄ud s̄aǹeh̄ā) is a 2002 Thai romance film directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
Whilst being positively received by most critics, Blissfully Yours drew controversy in its director's home country for its scenes of male full-frontal nudity.
Min is an illegal Burmese immigrant living in Thailand who has contracted a mysterious rash that is painful and covers the upper part of his body. His girlfriend, Roong, and an older woman, Orn, take him to see a doctor. Min pretends that he cannot speak because he is not fluent in Thai and speaking would reveal him to be an illegal immigrant. The doctor treats him, however because he does not have proper ID documents, the doctor refuses to supply him with the medical papers necessary to get a work permit. Orn's prescribed medication is also mentioned, and it is unclear whether she is taking pain killers or anti-depressants.
Orn brings Min to her husband's work and instead of using the prescription she got for Min's rash, Orn prepares a homemade concoction, a mix of finely chopped vegetables and store-bought skin creams. Orn also mentions to her husband that she'd like to have another child. Her husband is sympathetic, but is afraid to try again because their first-born child died. While waiting in silence, Min is approached by a man who places his hand on Min's lap suggestively.
Roong works in a factory, painting ceramic figurines. She does not want to work after having worked overtime the day before. Min and Orn drive over to the factory, and Roong feigns an illness and takes off with Min. She drives into the countryside, while Min directs her to a secret location she does not know. They come upon a cliff-side plateau over looking the mountainous jungle. Roong is surprised by the beautiful view and they have a romantic picnic on the cliff and later by a river in the jungle. It is mentioned briefly by Roong that she dislikes Orn, and also claims that no one likes the older woman.
Orn, meanwhile has an erotic affair with one of her husband's co-workers. They are suddenly interrupted when the motorcycle is stolen. The man chases after the thief and disappears, leaving Orn in anxious solitude. She ends up lost in the woods, and eventually stumbles upon the young lovers by the river while Roong is giving oral fellatio to Min.