It’s summer. Celine, in her thirties, archaeologist, spends a weekend in her childhood home. Her archaeological research are mixed up with her memories of adolescence and some random reunions from her walks.
A tiny seaside resort, out of season. Thomas returns after being away for quite some time. Adèle is an estate agent, who has a tendency to fall asleep. The tide turns towards the beach and the dunes, scooping up jellyfish, sheep and ghosts in its ebb and flow. The tide turns, just like Thomas towards Adèle and Adèle towards Thomas.
Taking the recent tsunami in Asia as its starting point, the filmmakers have used the idea of a ghost seen wandering along the rocky coastline of a Thai island and, in a life-affirming gesture, they have invited some local children to direct the film for them, suggesting and filming the movements of the actor-ghost.
Second Love in Hong Kong shares a common theme in the art works of Christelle and Apichatpong – a minimalist portrayal of hybrid fiction/non-fiction landscape. Here the filmmakers focus on an imaginary character named Hong (Swan) who travels from Thailand to Hong Kong for a housemaid job. The tale is taken from a comic book of the same title and is chosen among the thousands of romance comics that are widely read by Thai workingwomen, mostly underprivileged.