Vacuum Mon Amour – A Useful Ghost is a quirky, haunting, queer Thai masterpiece
Think of your favorite spousal haunting movie. There are more than you imagine. Maybe it’s David Lowery’s slow and methodical A Ghost Story (2017). Or what about Patrick Swayze making clay pots with Demi Moore in the aptly-titled Ghost (1990)? Well, I like mine with a little absurdity, a little more humor and a little more queer. That’s exactly what you get with Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s A Useful Ghost (Pee Chai Dai Ka).
Thai writer-director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke makes his stunning feature debut with the film which world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this week. His previous short, Red Aninsri; Or, Tip-toeing on the still Trembling Berlin Wall (Aninsri daeng) won the Junior Jury Award at the Locarno Film Festival in 2020. With A Useful Ghost competing in the parallel selection of Semaine De La Critique as a part of the festival’s official selection, it makes it the first Thai film to compete in that program.
A Useful Ghost is far from your typical ghost story. After his wife’s passing, March, played by Witsarut Himmarat, is struggling to come to terms with his new reality. Until one day when his wife’s spirit, Nat, stunningly portrayed by Davika Hoorne, returns to him through a standard issue vacuum cleaner. They are reunited at last, however his family isn’t too keen on this inter-human-ghost-vacuum relationship. In order to stay together, Nat must prove herself useful to her in-laws by cleansing the family factory from vengeful spirits.
A Useful Ghost is an absurd, queer, genre-bender that will leave you belly-laughing, teary-eyed, and utterly mesmerized. This charmingly crafted debut masterpiece establishes Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke as a bold new filmmaker with a wholly unique voice and distinctive style.
Of all the films I’ve seen so far at Cannes this year, A Useful Ghost has by far the most remarkable cinematography, courtesy of Pasit Tandaechanurat. Popping with vibrant color, they produce many sublimely absurd frames that still, oddly enough, haunted me many hours after the film had ended. There is beauty in the humor, but there is also horror in the beauty. Beauty, horror and humor: this film finds all three simultaneously, specifically through Tandaechanurat’s extraordinary cinematography.
The deadpan humor (no pun intended) is resurrected with great success thanks to the first-rate cast and Boonbunchachoke’s dialogue. The actors portraying March’s aunties and uncles are particular stand outs, with their witty quips and blantat candor really landing. Davika Hoorne as Nat has such a singular look. You absolutely cannot take your eyes off her. Both as a vacuum, and as a ghost. The true standout of the film though is Apasiri Nitibhon as March’s mother, Suman. Her line deliveries are always on-point for maximum deadpan humour, leaning into the absurdity. She is also given the biggest emotional arc of the film, and though you might not hear it through the deadpan, you definitely feel it through her face, eyes and manner. Exquisitely executed on all fronts.
Using ghosts for the premise of his film, Boonbunchachoke is able to explore the topic of erasure in a sharp and memorable way. Running parallel with March and Nat’s narrative is a second plot line which follows a self-described “academic ladyboy” (Wisarut Homhuan) and vacuum cleaner repairman, Krong (Wanlop Rungkumjad). Through their characters we are able to understand the unruly power and privilege that that erasure brings. Displaying how this erasure affects our loved ones, our identities, history, and everything around us. We must ask ourselves, what’s the point of being remembered if you are just erasing others in the process? Is it worth it?
The queerness of A Useful Ghost is at the forefront, but also used allegorically throughout the film. Many of the experiences that Nat has with her in-laws and March, mirror the struggles of being queer today. Disapproving family? Check. Legal discrimination? Check. Pseudo-conversion therapy? Check.
As for the narrative, Nat’s husband has a brother who is gay, and he and his Australian partner make recurring appearances. It is explained that the only reason that the family is accepting of their relationship is because of financial profit. The same is true with the supernatural Nat and the events that put the whole plot into motion, with the family not giving her the light of day until it benefits them in her helping to cleanse the factory of pesky spirits. This actively demonstrates an issue we have today with big corporations claiming to be “queer friendly” and rainbow washing to appeal to the queer crowd, only to abandon us when it’s no longer seen as financially profitable or politically expedient. Got my eye on you Target.
A Useful Ghost is a delightfully hysterical treat with a beating heart that could bring any ghost back to life. It warns us of the dangers of erasure through the lens of memory and dreams. We mustn’t forget who came before us. We mustn’t forget who has fought for us. So remember, be nice to your vacuum because you never know who might be haunting it.
By Andrew Pankey