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Movies / Upcoming / 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

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

US Box Office: $0

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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Last Life in the Universe

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Un film dont les élans singuliers mènent à la fascination.

Full Review Source: Panorama | comment Comment
07/04/07
Jean-François Vandeuren
Jean-François Vandeuren
Panorama

One fascinating -- if not wholly accessible -- movie.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
12/21/06
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Asano é sempre um ator interessante, mas a montagem é auto-indulgente e o roteiro, pretensioso.

comment Comment
09/26/05
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Macabre film about a suicidal librarian.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/29/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A film that demands second and even third viewings in order to absorb all of its nuances.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
03/01/05
Matt Bailey
Matt Bailey
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

This trip-hoppy tone poem left me feeling like I'd never seen a movie before.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
12/05/04
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
11/19/04
Sharon Mizota
Sharon Mizota
PopMatters

... a dreamy study in stillness broken by suicide fantasies, flashbacks, and the hired killers, but even the violence has a meditative even melancholy quality to it...

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
10/04/04
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It's an offbeat romance that defies easy labeling, recommendable as a film buff's pleasure and a semi-audacious art-house curio.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
10/01/04
Jeff Shannon
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times

[Reflects] the growing interpenetration of many individual national cinemas into a cultural conglomerate that reflects the irresistible tide of cinematic globalization.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
10/01/04
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer

The film has a precise, slow pace that allows us to get to know these quiet, quirky characters, and an imaginatively experimental approach to their thoughts and dreams.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
09/17/04
G. Allen Johnson
G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle

An absorbing series of intricately planned shots that play like installation art at a modern museum.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
09/17/04
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post

Constantly surprising.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/17/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
08/21/04
Boston Phoenix

There is some lovely filmmaking here, and nice surprises.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
08/20/04
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

This arthouse drama could have used less concept and more focused storytelling.

Full Review Source: Boston Herald | comment 1 Comment
08/20/04
Paul Sherman
Paul Sherman
Boston Herald

The Thai locales, the stars and Doyle's expressive cinematography add up to a disarmingly seductive yet always precarious film experience.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/19/04
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

One of the year's most original and compelling releases.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
08/19/04
Wade Major
Wade Major
Boxoffice Magazine

a deeply intriguing and contemplative two-person character study that offers many small rewards along the way

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/19/04
Don Willmott
Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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