Last Life in the UniverseLife can be very difficult, but even more so when you're lonely. Kenji (Tadanobu Asano) is a native Japanese in Bangkok, Thailand. His life is one of isolation, obsessive-compulsive organization, introversion. This solitude brings him no comfort; in his boredom--and unspoken longing--he contemplates suicide as a means to end this malaise. Noi (Sinitta Boonyasak) is a native Thai woman preparing to go to Osaka, Japan for work. Noi and her sister, Nid (Laila Boonyasak, Sinitta's real-life sister) argue over a guy neither of them really like. When Nid is fatally struck by a car, Noi blames herself, and Kenji bears witness to the accident--from here, Noi and Kenji's fates are intertwined.
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Last Life in the Universe is an elegaic poem of a film, a story of loss and grief, and of isolation among others, of feeling like an outsider seeking acceptance. It is clear that Noi and Nid have been fighting for a while--maybe Noi does not approve of Nid's night work as an escort, posing as a Japanese schoolgirl. Nid certainly caught Kenji's eye when he first noticed her in the library he works at; he even went out of his way to check out the same children's book she was reading, "The Last Lizard". The book's tale is told throughout the movie, juxtaposed with Kenji's own despair and sense of loneliness. The story tells of a lizard who finds that everyone else has gone away in the world, and he is completely by himself. Kenji contemplates this story as he prepares to plunge into the river, but Nid's sudden appearance--just as he's about to leap--makes him halt. The loss of Nid hangs heavy over Noi, and she grieves deeply for the loss of her sister, with whom she regrets ending things on bad terms. Noi and Kenji are both called to the hospital where Nid was taken. When Noi brings Kenji his napsack he left behind, the two go out for dinner. Their initial time together is stilted--not just because what they do share in common is an unpleasant event, but because they are both still unsteady with the other's native tongue. Last Life in the Universe is interesting in that it is practically a tri-lingual movie; both Noi and Kenji speak some English, and use this language as a middle ground to get better acquainted with one another. As the film progresses, the time the two of them have spent with one another opens doors to understanding one another's language better, although they often still speak in English with one another, as it has become something of a custom by this point.
Approximately half way into the movie, there is a sudden transformation of Noi from herself into her "sister". Nid shows up where Noi should be, wearing that sailor suit, leg marred by the scars of the car accident, although she talks like--and is mostly voiced by--her sister, Noi. No explicit explanation is given as to why filmmaker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang makes this change, but the ambiguity in Last Life in the Universe is, however, a large part of the fun. For me, the transformation also has to do with another projection that occurs when Kenji saves Noi from being beaten in her house by her sadistic ex-boyfriend, Jon (Thiti Rhumorn). After the milquetoast Kenji grabs Jon and slugs him, we catch a glimpse of a massive back tattoo on Kenji, the kind which is normally associated with the yakuza. While our encounters with Kenji have established him as mild-mannered, he did defend himself after his brother--a runaway yakuza--is assassinated in Kenji's apartment by another gangster, who also tried to kill Kenji. Maybe Kenji is also a yakuza on the run, but that seems less likely the case then that Kenji--determined to save the woman he has fallen for--assumes the strong persona of his brother, even if his brother was a callous jerk, to defend Noi from the attack. Although Kenji claims to feel nothing for his brother's loss, this transmission of identity is also in keeping with the transfiguration of Noi into Nid to cope with her grief, if even just for our benefit as the audience. Last Life in the Universe has several shots where there are moments out of synch with the events of the story, flashes that prefigure events yet to come. Some of these could also be the dreams of Kenji and Noi, their visions of the world they want to live in. Consider the ending of the film: the events which take place might reflect the ending that is to be, but is framed in such away--by the talented cinematographer Christopher Doyle--to suggest that it might also be a fantasy. The ambiguity of the imagery invites the audience to contribute their own interpretation as to the conclusion, and like great poetry, that is really part of the fun.
Recommended for: Fans of a haunting and beautiful tale of love and loss, of two strangers separated by language, who grow closer as they learn about one another and from one another, amid the lush vista of Thailand. The film's sorrowful musical score always manages to tug on my heartstrings.
Approximately half way into the movie, there is a sudden transformation of Noi from herself into her "sister". Nid shows up where Noi should be, wearing that sailor suit, leg marred by the scars of the car accident, although she talks like--and is mostly voiced by--her sister, Noi. No explicit explanation is given as to why filmmaker Pen-Ek Ratanaruang makes this change, but the ambiguity in Last Life in the Universe is, however, a large part of the fun. For me, the transformation also has to do with another projection that occurs when Kenji saves Noi from being beaten in her house by her sadistic ex-boyfriend, Jon (Thiti Rhumorn). After the milquetoast Kenji grabs Jon and slugs him, we catch a glimpse of a massive back tattoo on Kenji, the kind which is normally associated with the yakuza. While our encounters with Kenji have established him as mild-mannered, he did defend himself after his brother--a runaway yakuza--is assassinated in Kenji's apartment by another gangster, who also tried to kill Kenji. Maybe Kenji is also a yakuza on the run, but that seems less likely the case then that Kenji--determined to save the woman he has fallen for--assumes the strong persona of his brother, even if his brother was a callous jerk, to defend Noi from the attack. Although Kenji claims to feel nothing for his brother's loss, this transmission of identity is also in keeping with the transfiguration of Noi into Nid to cope with her grief, if even just for our benefit as the audience. Last Life in the Universe has several shots where there are moments out of synch with the events of the story, flashes that prefigure events yet to come. Some of these could also be the dreams of Kenji and Noi, their visions of the world they want to live in. Consider the ending of the film: the events which take place might reflect the ending that is to be, but is framed in such away--by the talented cinematographer Christopher Doyle--to suggest that it might also be a fantasy. The ambiguity of the imagery invites the audience to contribute their own interpretation as to the conclusion, and like great poetry, that is really part of the fun.
Recommended for: Fans of a haunting and beautiful tale of love and loss, of two strangers separated by language, who grow closer as they learn about one another and from one another, amid the lush vista of Thailand. The film's sorrowful musical score always manages to tug on my heartstrings.