In interviews about Syndromes and a Century, Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul explains that the film is essentially an experiment in memory, trying to convey the feelings of his mother and father who were doctors. The drama is split into two parts and takes place at a country hospital surrounded by the beauty of the natural world. The opening shot of tree branches swaying rhythmically in the wind signals that we are in the hands of a film director who is in no rush to hurry through memories. He wants us to harvest them slowly and to savor the moments and the people in them.
Weerasethakul introduces us to a fascinating group of doctors and patients. Victims in dire straits, such as those seen on TV dramas like ER and Chicago Hope, are no where to be found. In this small country hospital, Dr. Toey (Nantarat Sawaddikul) is conducting a psychological profile of Dr. Nohng (Jaruchai Iamaram), an army-trained doctor who is reporting for work on his first day. He claims to be a cheerful man and proves he has a sense of humor when asked what DDT stands for; at first he comes up blank and then he guesses "Destroy Dirty Things."
After completing her interview with him, Dr. Toey receives a gift from Toa (Nu Nimsomboon), an admirer. She then consults with an elderly monk who complains of a nightmare about angry chicken spirits casting him out of his bed to the floor. He thinks this is revenge for the times when as a little boy he tormented chickens because he didn’t like all their clucking. Dr. Toey, who is all business, refuses to prescribe medicines for him when she finds out that they are for other monks at the temple. Her mood grows sour when she confronts a colleague about money he owes her, and he does nothing but make excuses.
Dr. Toey walks around the grounds with Toa who blurts out that he wants to marry her. He claims to be madly in love with her, so she tells him about her encounter with Noom (Sophon Pukanok), an orchid expert. They meet in a market and later he purchases a rare orchid that he finds on the hospital grounds and takes it home with him. Dr. Toey accompanies him and meets his Aunt Mary, a middle-aged woman with a bad leg.
Noom is very taken with the doctor but cannot express his feelings. In contrast, Dr. Ple (Arkanae Cherkam), who works in the hospital's dental surgery, sings while he works on his patients. He develops an interest in Monk Sakda (Sakda Kaewbuadee), a patient who reminds him of his brother who died in a freak accident when he was eight years old. This monk shares that he once wanted to be a DJ.
The second half of Syndromes and a Century begins with the same interview conducted by Dr. Toey but this time follows Dr. Nohng. He meets with an old friend in the physical therapy ward and then encounters two women doctors in a basement room. Dr. Wan (Wanna Wattanajinda) stuns him by pulling a bottle of liquor out of a prosthetic leg, saying she needs an elixir for her public television presentation. When another physician brings in Off (Putthithorn Kammak), a disturbed young man suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, Wan tries a chakra healing technique on him. Near the end of his shift, Dr. Nohng meets with his girlfriend, who shows him pictures of the place where she wants to take a new job. His interest in having sex with her is stronger than his desire to decide whether he will move with her to accommodate her work.
Syndromes and a Century is a delightfully relaxed and entertaining Thai drama that has magical qualities all its own. Instead of depicting life and death dramas of patients in jeopardy, Weerasethakul focuses on herbal cures, reincarnation, the quirky private lives of monks, orchids, romance, holistic healing techniques, and the tranquil beauty of the natural world.
Screened at the 44th New York Film Festival, October 2006.
