Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Tropical Malady is at first a playful illustration of new love that has as its backdrop exotic Thailand. Keng, a soldier, is immediately admired by one and all; his attention however is dedicated entirely to young country boy, Tong. This blossoming romance illustrates the societal prejudices in existence at the time as well as cultural idiosyncrasies characteristic of the region. One easily becomes lost in the film as the long, slow cinematographic style mesmerizes the viewer yet at the midway point one is simply lost as the film shifts focus entirely. The narrative now resembles a proverb, in which a soldier wanders through the mysterious jungle in search of a missing boy. Suspicions lead to a shaman who haunts the village in tiger form. The secondary story relates to the narrative of Keng and Tong in a metaphoric way: it mirrors a quote provided earlier that illustrating the bestial nature of man and his desire to train the animal within to perform as expected by society. This statement conveys the nature of homosexuality, a characteristic innate in some yet denied by many. In the second story, the soldier in the jungle reverts to his animalistic tendencies in order to join his friend in a separate, if not supernatural world. While the transition between the juxtaposed narratives is foggy in execution, it is evident that the two stories speak to each other; the former illustrates the simplicity of love while the latter displays the inborn facets of love that are perhaps driven by something outside of oneself.
Review of Tropical Malady
