Manta Ray

Phuttiphong Aroonpheng's Thai film follows a fisherman in a coastal village. He finds a wounded stranger in the woods; the man never speaks, and the fisherman names him Thongchai and takes him home. One day the fisherman disappears at sea and Thongchai slowly takes his place. The film does not explain that substitution. That identity can be transferred is at the centre, and the question of who is who is never answered. The director dedicates the film to the persecuted Rohingya, and the context is built through that dedication. Aroonpheng had worked as a cinematographer, and colour, light and the forest sequences are the film's main instruments. There is almost no dialogue. It was named best film in the Horizons section at Venice and was the first Thai film to win that award. Who it's for: those who like slow cinema and poetic narrative. Who it's not for: viewers expecting explanation and plot; the film offers neither.