Blissfully Yours

Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's (Tropical Malady) Blissfully Yours will likely delight fans of challenging, esoteric cinema and confuse or irritate those who prefer linear storytelling with a strong narrative drive. The film centers on a trio of unlikely traveling companions: Min, an illegal Burmese immigrant who is overcoming a painful rash; his girlfriend Roong, who works in a factory painting cartoon figurines; and Roong's middle-aged friend Orn, who is eager to experience motherhood before her biological clock stops ticking (Orn's husband doesn't share her desire for parenthood). The three main characters embark on a retreat to a lush forest (Min and Roong together, Orn on a separate journey for an adulterous rendezvous). Blissfully Yours is languidly paced with occasional stylistic oddities (the opening credits don't appear for over a half hour), yet the film also feels strikingly original and the actors, particularly the hunky Min Oo as Min, offer refreshingly natural performances. Recommended. (P. Hall)