Fantôme Utile(Pee Chai Dai Ka) is a Thai film written and directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, premiering at the Critics' Week of the Cannes Film Festival 2025. This first feature, a cross between drama and fantasy, stars Mai Davika Hoorne, Witsarut Himmarat and Apasiri Nitibhon. The film follows a young widower confronted with the reincarnation of his wife... in a vacuum cleaner. Behind this absurd idea lies a profound reflection on mourning, memory and social tensions in contemporary Thailand.
Fantôme Utile will be released in cinemas from August 27, 2025.
Synopsis: After Nat's tragic death from dust pollution, March sinks into mourning. But his life is turned upside down when he discovers that his wife's spirit has been reincarnated in a vacuum cleaner. Although absurd, their bond is reborn, stronger than ever - but far from unanimous. His family, already haunted by an old worker's accident, rejects this supernatural relationship. Attempting to convince them of their love, Nat offers to clean up the factory to prove she's a Useful Ghost, even if it means cleaning up after stray souls...
Presented at the 64th edition of La Semaine de la Critique, Fantôme Utile is one of the first films in the running for the Caméra d'Or 2025. La Semaine de la Critique, a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival, honors first and second feature films, helping to reveal new talent in world cinema. This Thai film is part of this drive to bring out singular, inventive voices.
Fantôme Utile could be of interest to fans of Asian auteur cinema, curious to explore tales blending surrealism and emotion. This Thai film is reminiscent of works such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria or Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life , in which fantasy is used to express intimate and social issues. The tone, at once quirky and serious, appeals to an audience sensitive to symbolic narratives and narrative experimentation.
Bangkok-based filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke made a name for himself with his short Red Aninsri: or Tiptoeing on the Still Trembling Berlin Wall, which won an award at the Locarno Film Festival in 2020. His first feature, Fantôme Utile, reveals a singular visual universe and a taste for social metaphors rooted in contemporary Thai culture.
A blend of fantasy drama and social satire, Fantôme Utile is Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's first feature film, presented at the Critics' Week of the Cannes 2025 Film Festival. The film, in which a widow is reincarnated in a vacuum cleaner, blends absurdity, emotion and environmental criticism, through inventive and deeply human direction. Scheduled for release in France on August 27, 2025.
This article is based on information available online; we have not yet viewed the film or series mentioned.
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