Reflective Encounters

"“I am a mystery, without a mouth but who can express itself, who is unreal but who exists, who is present everywhere but invisible, unpredictable, slippery, without weight or aim, who goes round and round, who is neither realistic nor rational even though the irrational can be quite real... But above all, I am a serious threat.”

Pronounced off-screen, in the midst of distorted and psychedelic sounds by an unidentifiable character with a squeaky voice, these words are hardly intelligible at first. Fragmented and flat-packed – like the scraps of images that hands manipulate in front of our eyes – the words always seem incomplete, unfinished. Through this physical and psychological deconstruction, unintelligible and impalpable, the film lets us navigate with this enigma in mind.

Through this quest for identity, Tulapop Saenjaroen plays with the viewer’s senses by superimposing psychedelic sounds and animations on live action scenes as if to underline any feelings one might share with the voice-over. He manipulates materials, provokes discomfort in a colourful universe, plays with the limits between reality and its representations; and through this, questions the role of the cinematographic medium – and particularly of the animated film – itself.

But what is this impalpable voice that runs through the film? To find out, one must grasp it with both hands to Squish! it before it loses control.”

— Florian Fernandez