[Reflects] the growing interpenetration of many individual national cinemas into a cultural conglomerate that reflects the irresistible tide of cinematic globalization.
Last Life in the Universe (2004)
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Reviews Counted:11
Fresh:11
Rotten:0
Average Rating:7.8/10
Theatrical Release:Aug 6, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: A magic-realist romance about the culture bridges we build - sometimes wish we could jump off of Last Life in the Universe brings together three of the most exciting talents in current world... A magic-realist romance about the culture bridges we build - sometimes wish we could jump off of Last Life in the Universe brings together three of the most exciting talents in current world cinema: director Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Japanese superstar Asano Tadanobu, and Hong Kong-based cinematographer Christopher Doyle. Under the guidance of this much-celebrated triumvirate, refugee elements of Japanese yakuza films, an unpredictable succession of lush and intoxicating images, and a host of eccentric narrative tics from the cutting edge of Thai cinema converge to tell the story of the mysterious Kenji, a lonely, obsessive-compulsive Japanese librarian's assistant and occasional suicide hobbyist quietly living - and hoping to die - in Bangkok. Hiding from an unknown past, the Mishima-identified and moppishly-coiffed Kenji seems determined on a premature rendezvous with oblivion: when first we meet him, he's already swinging by the neck from a makeshift noose. (Or is he?) If only Nid, the beautiful Thai woman Kenji spies between the shelves one day, hadn't managed to die first. And if only Nid's acid-tongued sister, Noi - who inadvertently begins seducing the suicidal loner back into the chaos of life - weren't leaving for Osaka on the Monday morning plane... -- © Palm Pictures [More]
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Laila Boonyasak, Matsushige Yutaka
Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Laila Boonyasak, Matsushige Yutaka, Takeuchi Riki
Director: Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Director: Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Screenwriter: Prabda Yoon, Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Producer: Nonzee Nimibutr, Duangkamol Limcharoen
Composer: Small Room, Hualampong Riddim
Studio: Palm Pictures
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Reviews for Last Life in the Universe
The film has a precise, slow pace that allows us to get to know these quiet, quirky characters, and an imaginatively experimental approach to their thoughts and dreams.
An absorbing series of intricately planned shots that play like installation art at a modern museum.
The Thai locales, the stars and Doyle's expressive cinematography add up to a disarmingly seductive yet always precarious film experience.
The closest thing to entering a dream state at the movies right now is watching Last Life in the Universe.
The mildly surreal drama doesn't always make sense, but it sure does look great.
Directed by the talented Pen-ek Ratanaruang in a deadpan style that would be approved by Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismaki, the master of deadpan.
Allusive, and enigmatic, this Thai film is a wistful mood piece whose contemplative tone is periodically punctured with eruptions of violence.
A sort of magic-realist Thai version of Lost in Translation, Last Life in the Universe is of the unlikely romance school of comedy, at once despairingly glib and buoyantly dark.
Cheeky and elusive, Last Life in the Universe inhabits a high-lonesome world unto itself, a bright daydream that dissipates in the aching gap of a missed connection.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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