Death eludes me. The word in itself comes with plenty of questions that I still cannot answer, and the act in itself is one of those things you cannot know for certain until you are at the end yourself. After all, there are different kinds of deaths. No two people dying will carry the same intentions, circumstances and fears.
It greets everyone
differently - in accidents, illness and old age. While being predictable
(because everyone passes on eventually), Death still remains one of the most
mysterious and least talked about.
So if you are to die
tomorrow, would you prefer to know it or not?
Can death be a good
thing?
Can it be selfish?
Written and directed by
Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Die Tomorrow is a 75 minutes Thai film depicting the
moments before death. The scenarios presented are inspired by news headlines
between the years of 2012 to 2016.
However, you will not be
greeted by gruesome scenes of the dying itself. There is no dramatic spilling
of blood on roads, nurses rushing into the hospital A & E or crying
relatives by a death bed. You will find yourself in the moments leading up to
death - the calm before the storm and the start of underlying emotions bubbling
to the surface.
Like death itself, the
film itself is fleeting in depicting its scenes. There is a hotel room being
cleaned up and restored to its untouchable state. A wife looking out the window
after her husband leaves the home. Interview snippets with a child or an
elderly gentleman. The scenes are so ordinary that they make your heart ache.
Their peacefulness and moments of mindfulness showing you exactly what death
takes away, or ironically, how death enhances the importance of these daily
normalities to be almost precious.
The lighting of the
scenes gentle and soft, with minimal sound accompaniment. The most prominent
sound effects being the breathing patterns of the characters in the scenes or
the ominous ticking of a timer that reminds you that every second brings about
two deaths around the world.
The film does not seek
to sensationalise dying or death itself, but to present it in its raw form of
everyday life and how it actually is. I appreciate this approach of presenting
death in its subtleties and in ways most people to be able to connect with.
You would not be surprised
to find yourself in any of those situations - making you aware of just how
fickle-minded life can be and the disturbing nature of death in every day
innocence (or shall I say ignorance).
That is where the power
of this film lies - in its generous portrayal of the emotions that come with
dying. Thamrongrattanarit does not shy away from its messiness but embraces it,
and by doing so, the film becomes a digital space for anyone looking to
reconcile with the concept of death itself in its physical and emotional act.
Review by Dawn Teo
Die Tomorrow is part of Singular Screens, the film programme under the 2018 Singapore International Festival of Arts. Singular Screens showcases a line-up of 13 new films that seeks to respond to the general sentiment of the Festival programming, with ideas revolving around the notion of resistance and the experience of the individual. Curated by Asian Film Archive, SIFA 2018 invites film and arts lovers to embark on cinematic adventures that celebrate independent voices across the world and power of the individual.
Dates: 30 April and 1 May
Venue: Screening Room, The Arts House
Tickets: $9
To books tickets, click here.
Written by Sindie
