{"id":406,"date":"2013-11-07T13:15:47","date_gmt":"2013-11-07T06:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/?p=406"},"modified":"2013-11-12T17:10:54","modified_gmt":"2013-11-12T10:10:54","slug":"agrarian-utopia-reviews-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/?p=406","title":{"rendered":"Agrarian Utopia &#8211; Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;Pleasing to the eye and quietly affecting, &#8220;Agrarian Utopia&#8221; gently weaves its way around a community of Thai rice farmers struggling to make ends meet despite harvests of plenty. A promising narrative debut by young helmer Uruphong Raksasad, the pic focuses on traditional lifestyles threatened by economic forces&#8230;&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\"><span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"color: #000000;\">Richard Kuipers &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.variety.com\/review\/VE1117940832.html?categoryid=31&amp;cs=1\" target=\"_blank\">VARIETY<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;As in his earlier <em>Stories from the North<\/em>, Uruphong offers a deeply humane vision, clear-sighted analysis and fantastically beautiful images&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Tony Rayns <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;[L]ovel[y], with its golden fields and time-lapse skies, but also more tough-minded in its assessment of the economic and political realities that make its title deeply ironic.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dennis Lim &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/artforum.com\/film\/id=24145\" target=\"_blank\">ARTFORUM <\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"Subheader\">&#8220;The expansive rice farm [&#8230;] often fulfilled the title\u2019s promise\u2014depicted with Apichatpong-esque digital-pastoral splendor\u2014but the film topped out with documentary moments of children at play and farmers at work.&#8221;\u00a0 <\/span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span class=\"Subheader\">Nicolas Rapold &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmlinc.com\/fcm\/ja09\/jeonju.htm\" target=\"_blank\">FILM COMMENT<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;While <em>Agrarian Utopia<\/em> may seem unusually humble in its scope, the clarity and depth of its vision is tremendous, offering both the hardship and the unsentimentalised joys of daily life.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Genevieve Yue &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/archive.sensesofcinema.com\/contents\/festivals\/09\/50\/rotterdam-iff-2009-yue.html\" target=\"_blank\">SENSES OF CINEMA <\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;Tr?s ample, il se caract?rise avant tout par une beaut? visuelle, une mise en espace et un tempo qui c?l?brent les ?l?ments de la nature, tout en documentant une mode de vie simple, ? la fois ext?nuant et satisfaisant. [&#8230;]; l&#8217;utopie agraire du titre ne renvoie pas ? une soci?t? id?ale fictionnelle, mais ? une r?alit?, celle de communaut?s vivant heureuses et en harmonie, sur le point de devenir r?volue.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matthieu Darras &#8211; POSITIF\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;Die Essenz einer Existenzform, eingefangen in schlichtweg atemberaubenden Digitalbildern: Die Zeitraffer-Landschaftsaufnahmen oder das ?berm?tige Tollen von Kindern durch das Feld z?hlen zu den beeindruckendsten Anblicken dieses Kinojahrs.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Christophe Huber &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/diepresse.com\/home\/kultur\/film\/515847\/index.do\" target=\"_blank\">DIE PRESSE<\/a>\u00a0<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;[It&#8217;s] no small matter that\u00a0film-maker Uruphong Raksasad [&#8230;] should with his latest work <strong>Agrarian Utopia<\/strong>\u00a0choose to tackle his country&#8217;s problems in such an uncompromising and direct fashion.&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Neil Young &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jigsawlounge.co.uk\/film\/content\/view\/959\/1\/\" target=\"_blank\">JIGSAW LOUNGE<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;That [\u2026] the rice farmers, and the kids are viewed against typically gorgeous landscapes, even what some might imagine as paradises on earth, only exacerbates the difficulty of their situations; yet the juxtapositions, tinged with bitterness, are never ostentatiously presented. The political realities behind their particular forms of labour are also extraordinarily different, and they produce different conclusions [\u2026]. This is a world now infused with stultifying familiarity, so that the gap between utopia and actuality remains, like the seasons cycling back to the same starting point, with no real way out.&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Robert Koehler &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/cinema-scope.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=978\" target=\"_blank\">CINEMA SCOPE <\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;\u0e2d\u0e38\u0e23\u0e38\u0e1e\u0e07\u0e28\u0e4c [&#8230;] \u0e44\u0e21\u0e48\u0e44\u0e14\u0e49\u0e17\u0e33\u0e2b\u0e19\u0e49\u0e32\u0e17\u0e35\u0e48\u0e40\u0e1e\u0e35\u0e22\u0e07\u0e41\u0e04\u0e48\u0e40\u0e25\u0e48\u0e32\u0e43\u0e2b\u0e49\u0e40\u0e23\u0e37\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e14\u0e33\u0e40\u0e19\u0e34\u0e19\u0e44\u0e1b\u0e02\u0e49\u0e32\u0e07\u0e2b\u0e19\u0e49\u0e32\u0e2d\u0e22\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e40\u0e14\u0e35\u0e22\u0e27 \u0e41\u0e15\u0e48\u0e40\u0e02\u0e32\u0e22\u0e31\u0e07\u0e40\u0e1b\u0e47\u0e19\u0e04\u0e19\u0e17\u0e33\u0e2b\u0e19\u0e31\u0e07\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e40\u0e20\u0e17\u0e17\u0e35\u0e48\u0e21\u0e35\u0e14\u0e27\u0e07\u0e15\u0e32\u0e21\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e40\u0e2b\u0e47\u0e19\u0e04\u0e27\u0e32\u0e21\u0e07\u0e32\u0e21 \u0e41\u0e25\u0e30\u0e2a\u0e32\u0e21\u0e32\u0e23\u0e16\u0e16\u0e48\u0e32\u0e22\u0e17\u0e2d\u0e14\u0e04\u0e27\u0e32\u0e21\u0e07\u0e32\u0e21\u0e19\u0e31\u0e49\u0e19\u0e2d\u0e2d\u0e01\u0e21\u0e32\u0e43\u0e2b\u0e49\u0e1c\u0e39\u0e49\u0e0a\u0e21\u0e23\u0e48\u0e27\u0e21\u0e14\u0e37\u0e48\u0e21\u0e14\u0e48\u0e33\u0e44\u0e14\u0e49\u0e2d\u0e22\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e27\u0e34\u0e08\u0e34\u0e15\u0e23\u0e15\u0e23\u0e30\u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e15\u0e32 \u0e41\u0e25\u0e30\u0e1a\u0e23\u0e23\u0e14\u0e32\u0e0a\u0e47\u0e2d\u0e17\u0e19\u0e49\u0e2d\u0e22\u0e43\u0e2b\u0e0d\u0e48\u0e17\u0e35\u0e48\u0e16\u0e39\u0e01\u0e40\u0e23\u0e35\u0e22\u0e07\u0e23\u0e49\u0e2d\u0e22\u0e40\u0e02\u0e49\u0e32\u0e14\u0e49\u0e27\u0e22\u0e01\u0e31\u0e19\u0e2d\u0e22\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e13\u0e35\u0e15\u0e1a\u0e23\u0e23\u0e08\u0e07-\u0e01\u0e47\u0e04\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e22\u0e46 \u0e27\u0e32\u0e14\u0e40\u0e1b\u0e47\u0e19\u0e20\u0e32\u0e1e\u0e02\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e17\u0e49\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e44\u0e23\u0e48\u0e17\u0e49\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e19\u0e32\u0e43\u0e19\u0e04\u0e27\u0e32\u0e21\u0e2b\u0e21\u0e32\u0e22\u0e17\u0e35\u0e48\u0e43\u0e01\u0e25\u0e49\u0e40\u0e04\u0e35\u0e22\u0e07\u0e01\u0e31\u0e1a \u201c\u0e2a\u0e23\u0e27\u0e07\u0e2a\u0e27\u0e23\u0e23\u0e04\u0e4c\u201d \u0e15\u0e32\u0e21\u0e0a\u0e37\u0e48\u0e2d\u0e2b\u0e19\u0e31\u0e07\u0e2d\u0e22\u0e48\u0e32\u0e07\u0e41\u0e17\u0e49\u0e08\u0e23\u0e34\u0e07&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e27\u0e34\u0e17\u0e22\u0e4c \u0e41\u0e15\u0e48\u0e07\u0e2d\u0e31\u0e01\u0e29\u0e23 &#8211; \u0e2a\u0e35\u0e2a\u0e31\u0e19<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;Although the images are beautifully captured, the unblinking high-definition digital camera lens does not shy away from the hardships two farming families endure [&#8230;] What&#8217;s striking about Uruphong&#8217;s films is the intimacy of his photography and camera angles that clearly show a willingness to get right down in the thick of things.&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Wise Kwai &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/thaifilmjournal.blogspot.com\/2009\/09\/bkkiff-09-review-agrarian-utopia.html\" target=\"_blank\">THAI FILM JOURNAL <\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Pleasing to the eye and quietly affecting, &#038;#822 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19,7,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=406"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":407,"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions\/407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.extravirginco.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}