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After debuting his first feature length film mysterious objects at noon in 2000, a surrealistic exploration intertwining documentary and fiction, Apichatpong Weerasethakul continued his cinematic journey with his first fiction film Blissfully yours, in 2002, The film is set in Northwestern Thai border, where refugees from Burma flee political repression. The main character Min is one of them, who escapes into nature with Roong, and enjoys an afternoon of bliss. Displacement has been a consistent theme in Apichatpong’s films. As Steve Seid wrote, In Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s steamy film, political injustice is subtly ever-present, like the hum of insect life in the forest. Apichatpong describes it as an “emotional disaster movie”. Through the naturalistic styles, including long takes shot with handheld camera, shots and slice of life narrative, Apichatpong examines the idea that he describes as “moments of happiness existing in an oppressive environment, the idea of a coexistence of lightness and darkness, of pleasure and suffering.” Intimacy and politics emerges as important themes in Blissfully yours. intertwining the most subtle with the most broad topic in the episodic plots and examining one through the lens of another, Apichatpong maintains his naturalistic style with objective and unrestricted narration, except the superimposition of Min’s hand drawings and his voice over reading a letter in his dream. The direct subjective moments are closely related to Min’s identity as a refugee who recently learned Thai language from Roong, at the same time contributes to the unrefined yet playful style of the film, allowing the audience to empathize with this quiet and innocent teenage boy and his oppressed conditions. One of the most fascinating aspects of the film is the way it portrays intimacy. Sleep, sex, skin, body, food. They are the portals to the core of human connection in the film. Ants swarming over food, physical intimacy in the forest or by a stream, hands applying skin cream. Apichatpong presents the proximity of our existence in the most genuine and unpolished way. In the seemingly unedited observational wide shots long takes with characters who are unpretentious and dreamy, we confront the raw and bizarre nature of the erotic scenes, which force us to look directly at the body and into the characters’ subjectivity. Apichatpong considers film as a mirror reflects our presence and actions as human beings. This direct look and honest self-reflection is inescapable for the audience of Blissfully yours and throughout Apichatpong’s filmography. Besides wide shots, close-up is frequently utilized by Apichatpong to depict the tactile connection with the body. The long and tranquil closeups on the skin and body, which is a major component of the film, immerses us in a sensuous world of closeness. Another thematic element in the film revolves around Min's psoriasis. The film uses the skin disease as a sensuous way to connect us with the characters through Min’s physical discomfort which also serves as a metaphor for his political condition. Physical ailments is a recurring theme in Apichatpong’s films, through which he intends to connect the audience with global suffering and our shared living condition.