Invisible Waves (2006)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

Writer:

Prabda Yoon (writer)

Release Date:

2 March 2006 (Thailand)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

After inadvertently killing his girlfriend, a man (Asano) flees Macau for Thailand in an attempt to cope with his guilt, and avoid possible arrest. But the relocation doesn't prevent his problems from following him, as his new friends could be potential enemies.

Plot Keywords:

Guilt | Female To Male Foot In Crotch | Footsie Under The Table | Nude Woman Murdered | Loss Of Girlfriend

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Tadanobu Asano	...	Kyoji
Hye-jeong Kang	...	Noi
Eric Tsang	...	Monk
Maria Cordero	...	Maria
Toon Hiranyasap	...	Wiwat
Ken Mitsuishi	...	Lizard
Hideki Jitsuyama	...	Kyoji's Father
Tomono Kuga	...	Seiko
Hiro Sano	...	Hideki
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vant Banditnopparat	...	Colleague 2
Chatchaj Bunditwetchakorn	...	Taxi Driver
Lei Ju Fong	...	Maria's compund staff
Woon Ling Hau	...	Old Lady
Nukun Hongthong	...	Thai Thug 1
Vararuk Kumprom	...	Man
Prompop Lee	...	Universal Cruise staff
Wong Chen Man	...	Maria's compund staff
Thiti Michelli	...	Kanchil
Yasuhiko Miyachi	...	Colleague 1
Auttharco Patthanodom	...	Bartender
Thanee Poonsuwan	...	Technician
Dhiranan Sukwibul	...	Wilai
Sorayis Tungomesakul	...	Nid
Fung Tse Wa	...	Young Monk
Cheung Jat Wai	...	Maria's compound staff
Pakawat Wisesmanee	...	Thai Thug 2
Suree Ch. Wiwat	...	Old Woman

Directed by
Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Prabda Yoon		writer

Produced by
Hiromi Aihara	....	associate producer
Faruk Alatan	....	executive producer
Wouter Barendrecht	....	producer
Andy Lau	....	executive producer
Winnie Lau	....	executive producer
Miky Lee	....	executive producer
Mingmonkul Sonakul	....	co-producer
'Aoy' Atchara Takaew	....	line producer
Michael J. Werner	....	executive producer
Michael J. Werner	....	producer
Daniel Yu Wai-Kwok	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Hualampong Riddim

Cinematography by
Christopher Doyle

Film Editing by
Patamanadda Yukol

Production Design by
Saksiri Chantarangsri

Production Management
Lee Chatametikool	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Annop Jaikaew	....	boom operator
Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr	....	sound editor (as Akrit Chaya-ngam)
Koichi Shimizu	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
James McGrady	....	gaffer

Production Companies

• Dedicate Ltd.
• Fortissimo Films

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2006) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2006) (Luxembourg) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Accent Film Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (all media)
• Accent Film Entertainment (2006) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Accent Film Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
• CJ Entertainment (2006) (South Korea) (all media)
• Camera Film (2006) (Denmark) (all media)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2006) (Singapore) (all media)
• Cinema Mondo (2006) (Finland) (all media)
• Dionet (2007) (Spain) (all media)
• Five Star Production Co. Ltd. (2006) (Thailand) (all media)
• Golden Scene (2006) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Intercinema XXI Century (2006) (Russia) (all media)
• Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2006) (Portugal) (all media)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2006) (Ireland) (all media)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2006) (UK) (all media)
• Oro Film A/S (2006) (Norway) (all media)
• Palm Pictures (2006) (Canada) (all media)
• Palm Pictures (2006) (USA) (all media)
• Pan Européenne Distribution (2006) (France) (all media)
• Prooptiki (2006) (Romania) (all media)
• Prooptiki (2007) (Greece) (all media)
• Prooptiki (2007) (Hungary) (all media)
• Prooptiki (2007) (Yugoslavia) (all media)
• Rapid Eye Movies (2006) (Austria) (all media)
• Rapid Eye Movies (2006) (Germany) (all media)
• SPO (2007) (Japan) (all media)
• Triangelfilm (2007) (Sweden) (all media)
• United King Films (2007) (Israel) (all media)
• Video Vision Entertainment (2007) (South Africa) (all media)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

Netherlands | Thailand | Hong Kong | South Korea

Language:

Thai | English | Japanese | Korean

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:U | Australia:M (2007) | Australia:M (2006) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Dedicate Ltd.

Trivia:

Opening film for 2006 Bangkok International Film Festival.

Quotes:

Kyoji: Are you really a monk?
Monk: My father was.

Movie Connections:

References The Shining (1980)

The waves of guilt keep assaulting your conscience.

After doing a terrible thing for his boss, Kyoji left Macau for a so-called vacation in Phuket, one of the most beautiful holiday destinations in Thailand. During this whole period of time, many inexplicable incidents happened to him.

Invisible waves took you to the world of Kyoji, the disoriented world which he, himself, hardly comprehended; nor did the audience. For him, everything seemed to go wrong from the day when he did an unforgivable, unpleasant thing to Seiko, a woman whom he had been having an affair with. Here, we saw him locking himself in a room, being robbed or even being betrayed.

The film was not meant to be entertaining, but for some bizarre reason, I had no difficulty enjoying this film. I felt like being swept away by the wave into Kyoji's locale. While watching this film, I had an atmospheric feeling of uncertainty. I was not sure what was happening, nor did the lead character, I guess. Since the whole movie was a bit gloomy, I could not even tell the time of day when the action took place, early evening or at the beginning of the day. It occurred to me that the director might have intended to create a dismal ambiance in the movie. The story, hence, did not need to add up. Everybody could still enjoy the atmosphere.

According to Asian belief, if you do a bad deed, you will suffer for the rest of your life. In this case, we saw Kyoji being a victim of his action. He even decided to punish himself. He accomplished what Kenji, in "Last Life in the Universe" failed to achieve; that is perfect happiness. As a matter of fact, the protagonists in both movies were played by Tadanobu Asano and the movies were also both directed by the same Thai director, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang.

As some viewers mentioned, this movie appeared to have no plot, and many places in the movie looked dull and awful. It also took quite a long time to develop from one place to another. Even so, this movie is about a guy who is being punished because of what he has wrongly done in the past. A lot of things in this movie, therefore, need to be black, like the old saying "do good deserve good, do bad deserve bad". It is a wave of guilt that keeps attacking his conscience. No one ever sees it, even Kyoji himself, but everybody can feel its existence.