Becoming Human is a gentle friendship story and a haunting ghost story. Like the guardian ghost at its centre, it lingers as a measured response to a country's pain and the destiny of its people.
Hai (Piseth Chhun) is a young journalist who finds more than he bargained for in an abandoned cinema in Battambang, Cambodia: Thida, a guardian spirit (Savorn Serak). He and the young ghost form a bond based on their shared experience of rejection and in the changing face of not just the city but the country. As Thida faces the demolition of the cinema and has to make a choice about her reincarnation, Hai must also consider his response to inevitable change.
The first thing you might notice about Becoming Human is the sharp geometry of the composition, as the lens picks out the stunning landscapes of Cambodia and the battered peeling interiors of its buildings. At first, with the cubes and rectangles of the dilapidated cinema creating letterbox frames, it might be a love letter to movie theatres. It soon becomes clear, though, that humans are the subjects around which the lines, shapes and skylines are changing.
Due to circumstances, both Hai and Thida are old souls in their own way. Although a warm relationship develops across the divide, it happens in a very pragmatic way. Serak and Chhun are mesmeric throughout, with soft interactions that let the understanding between the pair blossom slowly. We're given insight into their past, but just enough. Despite trips to the past (or what it has become of it—once using an ingenious method of leaving the cinema that Thida is attached to), the real crux is about the future.
Becoming Human is a balanced supernatural drama, with both elements informing the other. Hai wanders through life looking for his place, learning from and supporting his phantom friend; Thida has a decision to make in death that's every bit as important as she may have made in life.
In the all-too-human bureaucracy of the afterlife, Thida navigates the admin and waits her turn to speak to desk clerks in cavernous halls. Western films have offered up many red-tape-riddled views of life after death, but Becoming Human combines it with a nuanced exploration of Buddhist philosophy. It's an enthralling blend of spirituality and the very real consequences of Cambodia's brutal history of conflict and continuing social unrest.
In all, it's a thoroughly charming dose of the afterlife that makes maintaining its steady pace feel effortless. It's not about reopening wounds but the healing process, with an eye firmly fixed on the future, so it will appeal most to audiences after a gentle and intriguing 99 minutes.
Becoming Human is a confident first feature from writer-director Polen Ly, with many neat touches that ensure a quietly refreshing and even-handed look at a damaged, hurting country and its people. Calm, gentle, and thought-provoking, it's not so much a story about coming-of-age as, hopefully, a coming-of-peace.
Becoming Human screened as part of the First Feature Competition at the BFI London Film Festival
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