Tropical Malady
A two-part Thai film blending romance and supernatural forest mystery.
Tropical Malady (สัตว์ประหลาด, RTGS: Satpralat, meaning "monster") is a 2004 Thai art film blending romance, psychology, and drama, written and directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Its structure splits into two parts: the first follows a romantic relationship between two men, while the second tells of a soldier wandering a forest, haunted by a shaman's spirit. The film earned the Jury Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, marking the first time a Thai film competed in the main lineup there, and the first Thai film to take a prize at any of the "Big Three" festivals.
The first narrative centers on Keng (Banlop Lomnoi), a soldier stationed in a small rural Thai town, whose unit investigates mysterious cattle killings. He meets a villager named Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee), and they develop a romantic friendship. Keng helps Tong at an ice factory; one night, they find a sick dog on the road, take it to a vet, and learn it has cancer. Tong signs for its chemotherapy. Later, they go to a movie theater. The next day, an older woman tells them a story about farmers who turned rocks into silver and gold, only to have them revert to frogs when they grew greedy. The three spend the afternoon together, walking through a cave and meeting her friends. One night, Keng and Tong ride a motorcycle; they share a brief romantic moment, but Tong wanders off into the dark. Keng and his troops leave the next day. Later, Keng hears people say a monster is killing their cattle.
In the second narrative, a soldier (Lomnoi) is sent alone into the woods to kill a tiger shaman spirit (Kaewbuadee). He follows its pawprints and waits by a tree overnight. Waking, he finds the shaman in human form, chases it, and is knocked unconscious down a slope. He still has his gun, but his radio and backpack are destroyed. A monkey tells him he must kill the shaman or be devoured and enter its ghost world. At night, he fires at a sound, killing a cow; its spirit rises and walks to a glowing tree. The shaman, now a tiger, follows him. The soldier loses his gun, walks on hands and knees, and finds the tiger shaman in a tree. After staring, the soldier says, "I give you my spirit, my flesh, and my memories," as a graphic shows the shaman absorbing him. The soldier keeps looking up as the wind picks up.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Apichatpong Weerasethakul
- Producer
- Charles de Meaux / Axel Moebius / Pantham Thongsang / Christoph Thoke
- Starring
- Sakda Kaewbuadee / Banlop Lomnoi / Sirivech Jareonchon / Udom Promma / Huai Deesom
- Cinematography
- Jarin Pengpanitch / Vichit Tanapanitch / Jean-Louis Vialard
- Editing
- Lee Chatametikool / Jacopo Quadri (Editing Advisor)
- Studio
- Anna Sanders Films / TIFA / Downtown Pictures / Thoke Moebius Film Company / Kick the Machine Films / RAI Cinema / Fabrica Cinema
- Distributor
- GMM Pictures (Thailand) / Ad Vitam Distribution (France) / Istituto Luce (Italy)
- Released
- 17 May 2004 · Cannes · 2004 · 6 · 24 · Thailand
- Runtime
- 125 minutes
- Country
- Thailand / France / Germany / Italy
- Language
- Thai
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film's first narrative follows Keng, a soldier assigned to a small city in rural Thailand, who investigates mysterious cattle slayings. He meets a villager named Tong, and a romantic friendship develops. They share moments at an ice factory, rescue a sick dog, and visit a movie theater. An older woman tells them a story about farmers who turned rocks into silver and gold, only to have them become frogs. Keng and Tong share a brief romantic moment before Keng leaves the village; later, he hears that a monster is killing cattle. The second narrative features a soldier sent alone into the woods to kill the spirit of a tiger shaman. He follows pawprints, encounters the shaman in human form, and is knocked unconscious. A monkey warns him he must kill the shaman or be devoured. The soldier accidentally kills a cow, whose spirit rises toward a glowing tree. The shaman, now a tiger, follows him. The soldier loses his gun, crawls, and finally says "I give you my spirit, my flesh, and my memories" as a graphic shows the shaman absorbing him.
Reader's Guide
Tropical Malady is significant for its unconventional structure and its place in Thai cinema history. It was the first Thai film to compete in the main competition at Cannes and the first to win a prize at one of the "Big Three" film festivals. Its reception was mixed at the 2004 Cannes press screening, with some audience members leaving or booing, yet it won the Jury Prize from a jury headed by Quentin Tarantino. Early reviews from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter were poor, but later critics like Manohla Dargis and Peter Bradshaw praised its strangeness and poetic ambition. Over time, the film gained favorable reviews: Rotten Tomatoes reports 80% positive from 50 reviews, and Metacritic gives a weighted average of 81/100, indicating "Universal Acclaim." In 2022, it ranked 62nd in the Sight & Sound directors' poll and 95th in the critics' poll. In 2016, it was ranked the 6th greatest LGBT film of all time in a British Film Institute poll. It is also listed as one of Thailand's national heritage films by the Thai Film Archive in 2018. Its legacy includes influencing discussions of narrative form and queer representation in cinema.
Did You Know?
- At the 2004 Cannes press screening, some audience members left before the film ended and some who stayed booed it, yet it won the Jury Prize.
- In 2022, it was ranked the 62nd greatest film of all time in the Sight & Sound directors' poll and 95th in the critics' poll.
- The film opens with a quote from 'The Moon Over the Mountain' by Atsushi Nakajima.
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