20th Century Women
118'
USA
IFFR 2017
Thana has come to a standstill in life. His work as an architect in Bangkok is no longer appreciated and his wife doesn’t seem to want him around either. Where does a middle-aged man really belong? Then the disillusioned Thana comes across the elephant he grew up with as a boy in the countryside of Thailand. He buys the animal to take it with him on a road trip, back to their shared past.
Thana and the elephant, Pop Aye, are characters you want to take into your heart. Thana approaches others with a warm humanity and his mythical-looking companion is more than just a symbolic figure: the animal has a history and character of its own. These appealing misfits trample through occasionally absurdist or tragicomic scenes that they share with a gentle vagabond who can predict the future, two bureaucratically-inclined police officers and a lonely ladyboy with karaoke aspirations. Winner VPRO Big Screen Award 2017.
IFFR 2017