Winner of the 2010 Palme d'Or Cannes Film Festival. The latest film from the director of Syndromes and a Century, Tropical Malady and Blissfully Yours has propelled Apichatpong Weerasethakul into the spotlight.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, a strange and intriguing title if ever there was one, and it certainly earns that bold title. Arriving on DVD with a monumental critical success to back it up, including winning the prestigious Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, the film has a lot to live up to. And even though it's hard to judge the film in that sort of way I would it does live up to what it sets out to do.
Firstly it must be said that this isn't a movie for everyone. If you're a movie casual viewer who is just looking for an enjoyable movie with a plot that's easy to follow then you might want to look elsewhere. Uncle Boonmee is a tough movie to sit through sometimes, with its lingering shots of meditative emptiness (not unlike the work of director Terrence Malick), and plot that's as confusing as its is strange, that will test the limits of most viewers. But the film has a lot to it that makes sticking with it worthwhile. Admittedly there will be times when you are, to be frank, unspeakably bored but for every moment of that sort Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul provides five others that are beautiful, inspiring, mystical and magical in ways that words can't really describe - you really have to see it to truly appreciate its wonders.
The film contains all manner of unforgettable imagery that I have never seen before, the most iconic of which is the peculiar "monkey ghost" with its piercing red eyes staring out at you through the darkness. And if any one memorable visual doesn't cut it, the film has a general air of wonder about it that is rarely seen in movies nowadays. It also has some wonderful performances that may seem amateur on the surface but which really work together to convey a sense of simplicity. The film understands that in life the simplest of moments are often the best.
Not for everyone but Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a movie unlike any other you are likely to see for a long time, with some of the most unusual yet stunning imagery of recent years. Take a chance on this peculiar little film, you never know it might just affect in a way you never thought possible.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play Suffering from acute kidney failure Uncle Boonmee has chosen to spend his final days surrounded by his loved ones in the countryside Surprisingly the ghost of his deceased wife appears to care for him and his long lost son returns home in a non-human form Contemplating the reasons for his illness Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop cave the birthplace of his first life
Apichatpong Weerasethakul directs this Thai fantasy. The film portrays the final days in the life of Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar), a middle-aged man with failing kidneys who recalls his various past lives from his deathbed. Along with a nurse Jaai (Samud Kugasang), his sister-in-law Jen (Jenjira Pongpas) and his young cousin Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee), Boonmee has come to a remote forest cabin to end his days, as he believes it to be the place where his former existences took place. As he revisits his many reincarnations and is reunited with the ghosts of his dead wife and lost son, Boonmee becomes immersed in memories and undergoes intense personal transformation as he surrenders to the inevitability of death. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.
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