Weerasethakul returned to his hometown in Isan Province for this suitably mesmeric cine-poem on magic, history, and dreams. In a former school built on an ancient cemetery, a group of soldiers slumbers quietly, victims of a mysterious sleeping sickness.

Naval petty officers 'Badass' Buddusky and 'Mule' Mulhall are assigned to escort 18-year-old seaman Larry Meadows to a naval prison, where he’ll serve eight years for stealing $40 from his Admiral’s wife’s charity. Taking a shine to the luckless lad, the two career sailors decide to show him a good time in the major cities between Virginia and New Hampshire.

In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. In virtuoso visual compositions, the film tells the story of one single suspenseful day from dawn to dusk, when the train to Manzhouli is set to depart.