Utopians

Love and Death meet again in Utopians. Hins, a dreamy student with a passion for literature and a thirst for a deeper understanding of life finds himself overwhelmed by Antonio and Swan, a charismatic teacher and his elegant assistant. Charmed by their love for art and wisdom, Hins plunges into the uncharted waters of spiritual learning and the pleasures of the flesh, taking his religious girlfriend Joey along for the ride.

Utopians resumes Scud’s meditation on the true notion of home and belonging to a place that permeates Permanent Residence (2008), and moves towards the idea that Utopia could be a place on Earth, a safe harbour for the soul to breathe freely – only to find it in Bangkok. In a way foreshadowing Thirty Years of Adonis (2017) and Apostles (2022), his two following films, Scud here places his literary and philosophical fervours into the narrative equation. Moreover, in Utopians, he also lets his cinephilic inspirations fly free, mainly playing around with hints and references to Pasolini and Greenaway.

For those unfamiliar with Scud's favoured mise-en-scène, the film is also rich with naked people and explicit sex.

– kijA