Review of Tropical Malady

Although there is an innocent same sex flirtatious love story, it cannot be judged against western standards. The film mirrors a culture which to my experience has far less rigid sexual, gender and personal space mores than generally are found in the West and far less rigid than found in the US, where two straight guys would dare not sit directly next to each other in a theater to watch this film, much less touch each other in public. The gay aspect is really unimportant and the resulting action in the second half of the film should not be left to the 700 club to interpret as 'God's wrath poured out against the sodomites'. It is more akin the 'courtly love' of the 1700's, as one might read in Shakespeare's love sonnets to both men and women. When watching this film, one should drop western notions of film making and story telling. This is not a story of cause and effect, or good versus evil. It is more a light show, a magician's act illuminating the idea that all extremes co-exist within the same unity. If you enjoyed "Pi", this is a retelling of the theme from an eastern perspective. One thing I did not fully understand, perhaps someone with a little more knowledge of Thai Buddhism, when the tree was illuminated, was this a reference to the Buddha's bodhi tree?