Cemetery of Splendor

Cemetery of Splendour (2015) is a Thai fantasy-drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul in a co-production spanning studios from across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. A cluster of soldiers collapses into a deep, unexplained sleep and is moved into a makeshift ward inside an abandoned school. The building stands on land that locals say holds the remains of ancient kings.

Jenjira, a middle-aged volunteer, takes it upon herself to care for Ott, a young soldier with no visitors. She befriends Keng, a girl who channels the sleeping men and relays their words to worried families. A notebook of cryptic drawings in Ott's bedside drawer hints that the sickness is tied to something buried under the floor — but the film doesn't press toward an answer. It gives you the feeling and trusts you to sit with it.

Weerasethakul claimed the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2010 for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives; Cemetery of Splendour is his quieter, more personal follow-up, shot in his home province of Khon Kaen. Dialogue is scarce, time moves at its own pace, and the film works best entered the way you'd enter a meditation — without expectation. Stream Cemetery of Splendour (2015) online on iFILM.