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Movies / On DVD / Last Life in the Universe
Last Life in the Universe

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Last Life in the Universe (2004)

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Reviews Counted:40

Fresh:36

Rotten:4

Average Rating:7.4/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

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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Release:

Feb 15, 2005

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Reviews for Last Life in the Universe

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21 - 40 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A brilliantly atmospheric, sweetly nutty film.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
08/19/04
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly

...rests entirely on Asano’s performance, and he doesn’t disappoint.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
08/18/04
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

While Last Life boasts two excellent performances -- Asano and Sinitta -- the real stars are the set and Doyle's cinematography.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/08/04
Maria Garcia
Maria Garcia
Film Journal International

The closest thing to entering a dream state at the movies right now is watching Last Life in the Universe.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
08/07/04
Charles Taylor
Charles Taylor
Salon.com

Co-written by the popular Thai novelist Prabda Yoon, Ratanaruang's fluid screenplay belies a knotty complexity that also lingers just below the smooth surface.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/06/04
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The mildly surreal drama doesn't always make sense, but it sure does look great.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
08/06/04
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

Directed by the talented Pen-ek Ratanaruang in a deadpan style that would be approved by Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismaki, the master of deadpan.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
08/06/04
V.A. Musetto
V.A. Musetto
New York Post

A lovely film, if a little out of balance with itself.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
08/05/04
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Allusive, and enigmatic, this Thai film is a wistful mood piece whose contemplative tone is periodically punctured with eruptions of violence.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/05/04
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Moody, atmospheric, and bewitching, like other first-rate examples of modern Thai cinema.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
08/05/04
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

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.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
08/05/04
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A very understated romantic comedy, basically what "Lost in Translation" tried to be, minus the American chauvinism and Sofia Coppola's grade school-level writing skills.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
08/04/04
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

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.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
08/03/04
Jessica Winter
Jessica Winter
Village Voice

It's an unsuccessful experiment in combining genres that are as irreconcilable as oil and water.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment 1 Comment
08/03/04
Ryan Gilbey
Ryan Gilbey
Sight and Sound

Pen-ek Ratanaruang may not become a household name in the US any time soon but if you are serious about movies his latest is worth the look.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
08/02/04
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

an exquisite, dreamy romance that drifts among different time periods, locations and maybe even life and death itself

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/04
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A disarmingly sweet, darkly funny charmer.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/30/04
David Parkinson
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine

'The Odd Couple' Thai-style.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
07/22/04
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

It may sound like a conventional tale, but this is full of magical surprises that occasionally ruffle its otherwise serene surface.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
07/06/04
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC

Last Life in the Universe isn’t so much weightless as it is liable to inspire weightlessness.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
07/05/04
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine
 
 
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