The paradise of the Portland International Film Festival is full upon me. First movie tonight and walking the darkened after rain streets of the Alphabet District alone afterwards to my car, peering in at the wine bars, cafes and coffee shops along the way. Couples snuggling along in the dark streets. Heaven. The movie? Cemetery of Splendor, a film from Thailand. I couldn't understand much of its references, but I felt it deeply enough. It reminded me of all those foreign movies that drew me in during the 1960s and 70s. Here's what stuck out for me. No real spoilers. 
Central to the movie is a hospital where soldiers sleep who can't wake up, but one does from time to time. Maybe. The hospital is built over a cemetery that houses ancient emperors of Thailand. A backhoe digs nearby. A middle aged women, Jen, with a horribly damaged and shortened leg who has been married to a soldier from Thailand and is now married to a retired American soldier, volunteers at the hospital. Dreaming and waking states are central to the tale. Lush and exotic from beginning to end. My weak stab at the central theme of the film is that it depicts a woman of modern Thailand who is troubled by changing times and the painful past. Resolution at the end? Maybe? It's a gem.
One favorite line. A character says, "I don't want to live in America. It's too poor. Europeans are living the American Dream." Socko boffo! Oh, I'm loving it.
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