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.

"Last Life in the Universe" was a rather unique and different movie experience. And it was a great combination of Thai and Japanese movie styles. Although the storyline in the movie is barely there, the movie leaves you with a very lasting impression and also with things to think about.

The story in "Last Life in the Universe" is about Kenji (played by Tadanobu Asano), a suicidal Japanese librarian in Thailand, who happens to meet Noi (played by Sinitta Boonyasak), a pot-smoking carefree Thai lady. The two sad existences end up becoming each others saviors. Taking refuge in Noi's dirty, beach-side home, Kenji starts to live again and emotions are brewing between the two strangers.

Although throughout the movie, the story is jumpy and skittish, there is a red line through it all. However, the movie is not really story-driven as much as it is emotion-driven, and that is what makes the movie so unique. Despite being fairly slow moving, the movie did deliver good entertainment and leaves you with something to think about.

And there was a great cameo appearance by Takashi Miike, renowned Japanese movie director, towards the end of the movie. Look for that one, because it was quite cool. The movie didn't have that big a cast list, but it still worked out quite well, because the two lead parts were really carrying the movie nicely and elegantly.

There are some pretty interesting visuals throughout the movie, which helps to add to the unique feel the movie has.

"Last Life in the Universe" is a must watch movie if you enjoy Thai and/or Japanese cinema. Just bear in mind that it is not an action movie, nor is it an average movie that you'd other wise see from Thailand or Japan. "Last Life in the Universe" is something extraordinary and unique.

This the first film I've seen by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and without a doubt its one of the most accomplished and satisfying I've seen all year.

Two polar opposite characters - a quiet and meticulous Japanese librarian with a shady past and designs on ending his life (Asano Tadanobu) and a feisty, straight-talking thai female escort (Sinitta Boonyasak) - have one thing in common and not much else it seems. They are both utterly lonely, albeit for different reasons - she is recently bereaved of her sister, he for a reason never fully disclosed is distanced from the world, an introverted outsider with no good reason to go on. Thrown together by a sequence of events (chance or fate?) they take solace from each others presence. From this, lets face it, not original germ grows an enchanting, touching and idiosyncratic movie.One that's not concerned with characterisation, an intricate plot or histrionic's but with how two troubled, contradictory people growcloser and in the process rediscover a reason for being, for going on in the universe. Due to the language barrier (they flit from talking Thai, Japanese and English to understand one another) they may not have meaningful discourse, but here the meaning is hidden behind the formalities, the pedestrian, the everyday.

I'm not going to launch into an extended essay or spew to many superlatives but believe me when I say its a strange delight. Assured, amusing and touching, this multi-lingual film is replete with a dry wit, a surreal element that leaves a lot to interpretation and a deft ability to prick the emotions. There are laudable performances from the two central characters, and a third from Christopher Doyle's shifting oblique camera-work and composition. And despite its clear East Asian cinematic influences (in tone it reminds me of Kitano's Dolls - the lingering pace and melancholy signature theme music– and it features a yakuza based subplot) Last Life evokes modern day Thailand in all its chaotic ramshackle splendour brilliantly.

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...