Krabi, 2562

Krabi, 2562 is a peaceful slice of life at a moment in time… or multiple moments in time… or something.

This Thai film, by Anocha Suwichakornpong and Ben Rivers, takes a trip around Krabi, a naturally beautiful region on the West Coast of Thailand. It hops between different lives in the area, including a location scout touring Krabi to find a place to shoot a movie, a team of cast and crew filming a commercial, a cinema owner, a hotelier, some American tourists, and strangely, a prehistoric caveman.

It’s hard work to follow and even harder to figure out what the overarching narrative is to all this – if there even is one. Seemingly at random, the film cuts not just between the various stories but also forward and backward in time. Nothing is explained and nothing is resolved.

Visually speaking, it is beautiful. It more than showcases the breathtaking scenery found in Krabi, it focuses on it. Everything else almost becomes superfluous in what feels more like a lookbook one can flick through to admire the local area.

Hugely lengthy shots of nothingness fill the 90-minute run time. What feels like two thirds of the film is simply five- to 15-second shots – of a chair, of slow moving traffic, of rooftops, of some trees. On one hand, this creates a wonderful sense of tranquillity and peace. But on the other, it can get incredibly dull to watch. One of these long shots may actually be of paint drying.

Most won’t enjoy Krabi, 2562. In fact, one could go as far as to say that no one will enjoy it, though some may appreciate it. It is less a piece of entertainment to bring viewers pleasure and more an abstract artwork to toil over, uncovering interpretations, ideas and meanings.

Jim Compton-Hall

Krabi, 2562 is released digitally on Mubi on 29^th May 2020.

Watch the trailer for Krabi, 2562 here: