Blue (2018)
A review of Blue (2018) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
This is a monumental occasion for this blog, as it’s the first time that I’m writing about a short film. It’s also the first time in a long while that I’ve even watched a short film, but I’ve been in such a big movie mood lately.
I’ve started writing for the website MovieWeb and ever since then I’ve been in such a good stance when it comes to movies and television. The research I have to do shows me all these new goodies that I have to watch, even if a lot of them are mainstream because that’s what gets the clicks and the positive SEO results.
I discovered Blue when I got my MUBI subscription for the first time. MUBI was showing Blue and I was fascinated particularly because I had no idea who the director was and the fact that it was a Thai movie.
I’ve only seen like two Thai movies before so this was a point of me being like ooh shiny and it turns out this director is actually quite accomplished. And that’s the sense you get with this short film because of how it’s concocted; it’s a work of art carefully planned and mapped out.
Let’s begin this review!
As a woman sleeps at night, we slip in and out of visual worlds and realities.
This short film begins with a reality that many of us, especially those considered to be creative, can understand: a woman is an insomniac and can’t sleep at night. We get the shot of her in her bed, tossing and turning, as the world around her is dark. Some define insomnia as a state of being where you are tethered between reality and the world of dreams.
Our main character in this film is exactly in this state: as she struggles to fall asleep, a tapestry is shown to us, which is presumably also in front of her.This is a tapestry full of bright colors, like the sun setting on the horizon or a town.
It folds up in itself to reveal new scenes, while the only audio provided is the sound of nature at night: the crickets, the sound of frogs. We always return back to the woman trying to sleep, and that’s when things start to get strange around here.
As she shifts, a small flame rises from the sheets. It slowly grows bigger and bigger until it seems to be consuming the woman. She doesn’t notice. And then, suddenly, the tapestry is also on fire. And that’s how the film ends: with everything slowly succumbing to the weight and burn of the fire. The namesake of the film is the blue sheet the woman is resting upon.
Fire is the metaphor of the film. It’s the illumination of her soul and state of being awake, one in which she cannot escape from. That’s why it’s burning everything around her. She’s too tired to escape from the imminent danger that’s closing in on her, she acknowledges that it is there, but then, at the same time, if she falls numb to the burn then that, too, is an escape.
Overall Thoughts
It’s a short watch, clocking in at twelve minutes, but I think it’s something you should definitely check out if you’re into the works of the director or are into film in general. I underestimated the concept of the short film, especially since I hadn’t seen one in such a long time.
This is a film that completely relies on its visual cues to tell the story, as there’s no audio. We’re not even focused on the main character for at least half of the length, which is captivating in how it manages to draw in the viewer’s attention and still manage to give major hints on how this woman is feeling. We don’t need words in a film like this because of how rich it is with the symbolism.
