Last life in the universe

I probably should not have watched this at 2am. I woke from my sleep and was looking for something interesting. Despite a noise inside my head calling me to go back to bed, I was entranced at the story unfolding before me.

Tadanobu Asano, who I last saw in Zatôichi, was captivating as a suicidal Japanese man living in Bangkock. He is an obsessive-compulsive on the order of Monk. He crosses paths with Sinitta Boonyasak in her first film. Her house is reminiscent of writers Iris Murdoch and John Bayley in it's proportion of slovenliness. They barely manage to communicate as she is barely conversant in Japanese and he in Thai.

We watch them as they try to communicate and share their tragedies in common. Both recently lost siblings. It is a Lost in Translation type of movie brilliantly done by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. She smokes while he cleans and is in the background. Somehow they manage to help each other through their pain.

I know I will have to watch this again as I was not fully awake. I look forward to that experience.

"Last Life in the Universe (Ruang rak noi nid mahasan)" is a testimonial to opening up films to new voices around the world, as Thai director/co-writer Pen-Ek Ratanaruang completely re-invents the worn-out Hollywood genre of opposites meeting cute and attracting (viz. "Laws of Attraction" or "Forces of Nature") that even the French could barely resuscitate in "Jet Lag (Décalage horaire)."

If I hadn't read a promotional flyer after the movie identifying the star Tadanobu Asano as also having been in "Zatôichi: The Blind Swordsman" I wouldn't have realized that the charismatic ronin there was the still, isolated, seriously depressed obsessive-compulsive here, but now I see why he's a big star in Japan and I will catch up on his films (oh, he's married to a pop star, directing her music videos, and in his own rock band, too, but I digress, sigh).

"Kenji" meets up with "Noi" a live wire, profane wreck of a Thai escort in tragic-comic circumstances brought on by their siblings that insert startling, balletic violence into the dream-like cinematography by Australian Christopher Doyle, reinforced by the mesmerizing music of Hualongpong Riddim.

But it took me as a monolingual American awhile to figure out that their communication difficulties were based on their limited language commonality as I couldn't tell when a character was speaking in Thai or Japanese (perhaps the annoying white-on-white subtitles could have included some coded indicators) until they ended up struggling in pidgin English. I'm sure I missed many other cultural clues (though I did pick up the telltale yakuza back tattoos that complicate their odd idyll outside Bangkok).

They contradict each other's expectations- he's allergic to sushi, she's surrounded in Western accoutrements; he's mysteriously left Japan, she's determined to emigrate there, and so on.

Slapsticky comedy and a sweet children's book continually lull us to the dangers they trip over. The lovely magic realism leaves the resolution up to interpretation, but I don't think I've ever seen such a moving courtship over the use of an ashtray or as sexy a hopeful line as "Tomorrow we'll do the laundry."

This has to be the offbeat romance of the year.

there's something about this movie that makes me just want to break out in a big smile, and it has nothing to do with my thinking the lead actress is really pretty. the visual composition of this movie as with most movies by Christopher Doyle is amazing. you could stop the movie at any point and it would make an award winning photograph. Tadanobu Asano also displays in this movie why he is one of my favourite actors. his performances in this movie, ichi the killer and zatoichi should rate him as one of the best actors outside of Hollywood(not that that makes him worse than anyone there, and he should stay out of Hollywood but thats a totally different subject for another day). the film itself has a pretty simple storyline, but follows a rather similar tone to another movie that was released last year, lost in translation. personally i felt this movie was superior because it seemed less contrived and pretentious. plus the extra little storyline with the yakuza is fall-off-your-chair funny. with hints of wong kar wai this is a very refreshing movie that should help get back your faith that good movies can still be made on small budgets.

The last 3 or 4 movies that I've seen lately made me fall asleep in the over air-conditioned, too comfortable theatres in Bangkok, which sometimes provide a blanket and pillow in a lazy-boy chair in the high-class places (at a surprisingly low price). But last night, I didn't even blink my eyes once while watching this wonderful movie. I was impressed... It was beautiful from the very start until the end.

This movie was magic... It didn't pretend to be perfect, and it's not, but it works so much on your feelings that you go out from it with mixed feelings. The jokes are very funny (for example the morning after the green papaya salad), the dramas are tear jerking, and you have to watch every details because there's a lot to watch. Believe me, it won't get you bored or sleepy, it's pure pleasure from the start until the end, no boring parts promise!

I hope that this movie will get more attention, I do recommend it to all. It's not an easy of family movie, some rough scenes, but go see it... I will go see it again, and I will buy the official DVD when it's available, not the pirated copy found in some markets... 4/5...

Kenji (Tadanobu Asano) is a depressed, introverted Japanese man living in Bangkok with suicidal fantasies. He is not so simple as his quiet demeanour hopes to portray. His past is complicated and therefore he controls his present state with an OCD-repressed lifestyle. His clothes are colour co-ordinated, his socks ironed and folded, and his books are stacked so neatly there's an urge to reach into the TV and throw them around the room just to set the sterile organisation off-kilter.

The dream-like unreality of Kenji is punctuated by his meeting of Nid (Laila Boonyasak) and her subsequent departure. Her sister Noi (played by Nid's real-life sister, Sinitta Boonyasak) is suddenly in his life, and her home serves as an escape for a disturbing event that happens in Kenji's apartment. Their personalities are as contradictory as they are complimentary - she is as messy as he is organised, as free as he is controlled. He brings her life into order and she brings his into disarray.

The developing romance between the two is difficult to categorise. Kenji imagines on occasion that Noi has become Nid; it's almost as if Noi is the next best thing and he doesn't appreciate her for herself. This is however usurped by the ending, of which I won't give away. That has to be down to individual interpretation and perhaps can't be seen definitively anyway.

Director and co-writer Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's portrayal of a Japanese man and Thai woman's blossoming relationship is illustrated with their stilted dialogue - it veers from Thai, to Japanese, to halting English. Their mis-understandings of language are juxtaposed with their understandings of each other. There is nothing so clear as body language and this film relies heavily on the physicality of the two leads, both of whom give near-flawless performances. Asano in particular cannot be helped being taken to the viewers' heart; it's obvious here why he has such a high status in Japan. Boonyasak is not so sympathetic, but she is perhaps not meant to be, and she serves her purpose well.

There's some brilliant comic moments peppered throughout, but the poignant moments counter-balance these well. The ending gives some insight into Kenji's past but must be viewed more than once to appreciate. This is not a simple or straight-forward film, but nor is it complicated or pretentious.

Last Life in the Universe is difficult to sum up without mentioning its imagery, of which you have to see for yourself to appreciate, or describing it with the words 'beautiful' and 'subtle' - I almost managed it.