The film also screens on Tuesday, October 21 | 7 PM | BB
Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s debut feature has some serious issues on its mind: impersonal corporations, opportunistic bureaucrats, indifferent urban developers, and atrocities swept under the rug. But he is having way too much fun indulging every flight of fancy to present any of this in a serious manner. Exhibit A: the main character, Nat, the eponymous specter, is styled to look exactly like Woody Woodpecker. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Other choice gags include absurdist factory signs, foul-mouthed monks, a Slinky used as an electroshock device, and one of the best action sequences of the year: an all-out brawl between a vacuum cleaner and a refrigerator! A Useful Ghost is a cockeyed, surprisingly touching romance told through high-concept comedy, magical realism, and lo-fi science fiction. When a man’s appliance starts behaving strangely, a mysterious repairman shows up at his apartment and informs him that this consumer product possession is not an isolated incident. He proceeds to recount the tragic love story of March and Nat, whose spirit returned as a vacuum cleaner to protect her husband from the dust particles that took her life. But as word of this phenomenon spreads, a number of interested parties want to exploit the couple’s unique predicament. A Useful Ghost is Thailand’s entry for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards. ~OO