"A Useful Ghost" — A Black Comedy That Takes On Thai Politics Through a Haunted Vacuum Cleaner

According to the Guardian's review, Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's debut feature 'A Useful Ghost' is one of the most original and daring cross-genre experiments of recent years. The film blends a ghost story, political allegory, queer romantic melodrama and industrial black comedy under a single roof — and, surprisingly, all of it holds together.

At the center of the story is a young man who believes his dead wife's spirit has settled into a household vacuum cleaner, and a factory eager to put this "haunted vacuum" to work as labor. A range of issues — from Thailand's air pollution crisis to its history of military rule, from capitalist exploitation to queer memory politics — intertwine with absurdist humor.

What does it get right? Boonbunchachoke's visual language is disciplined and stylish: the cold fluorescent light of the factory interiors, the warm tungsten tones of the home scenes, and the use of the vacuum's motor hum in the sound design all give the film a distinctive texture. In the Guardian's words, the result is "unsettling, erotic and deeply moving."

Verdict. 'A Useful Ghost' is a rare film capable of winning over both festival audiences and genre-cinema fans alike. With his debut, Boonbunchachoke steps onto the stage as the most notable voice of post-Apichatpong Weerasethakul Thai cinema.

Source: The Guardian