Hivos Tiger Awards Competition review - VANISHING POINT by Jakrawal Nilthamrong

Jakrawal Nilthamron's film deals examined human actions and resultant reactions in his film Vanishing Point, which had its world premiere at the 44th International Film Festival Rotterdam and was one of this year's winners of the Hivos Tiger Award.
 
Jakrawal Nilthamrong's work is one of solemnity that is heavily marked by thought provoking introverted observation, an approached utilised so succesfully that in turn it becomes universally appealing and understandable. This is perhaps also because of the filmmaker's background in documentary filmmaking. Nevertheless, the solemnity of the piece makes it rewardingly fascinating on an endless number of levels.
 
The starting point of the story, for instance, comes from the filmmaker's own personal experience. Early on, his life was affected by a car crash. His film Vanishing Point starts with a car crash, in a haunting introduction in which he includes shocking photos from a newspaper report of the tragic event. Yet, the film's narrative has characters that stand on their own two feet, lives whose stories seem to connect in conventional narrative, thought the film's purposely drones out bpacing makes it seem like a noir with a mystery for the viewers to solve.
 
Vanishing Point is a collection of domestic portrayals. A family having quiet meals, failing to communicate. An unhappy marriage. A young man whose closeness comes from an older prostitute - who in turn becomes a lover and a mother. All this is superficially and yet meaningfully packaged by the concept that every action we take, and every decision we make, inevitably and relentlessly affects the course of our lives.

 

The approach is realistic in its dealings with its deep themes of heritage, spirituality and more earthly matters such as relationships and interconnections. Yet, the film's meditative approach is heartfelt and sensitive due, beutified by the wonderful photography with contrasting brightness and enveloping darkness, as well as impressive fluid camera movements. It is also metaphorically represented by the geographical element, having been shot on polar opposite ends of Thailand, and eventually meeting in the middle in Bangkok.
 
Ultimately, the film is engaging on a lot of levels. The pensive nature of the film allows the viewers to muse upon the themes presented in Vanishing Point in their own personal way. That is the challenging nature of the film, that requires, or allows if you will, a more open interaction with the viewers through its grey areas. Every now and again, the film reaches abstraction, which at its height forces and demands a shift in attention and this identifies Nilthamrong's Vanishing Point as one that is essentially free from following conventions of the cinematic language, whilst atmospherically perfectly interconnected.