Yashua Kimbrough (jimniexperience)
Librarian with gangster affiliations whom is obsessed with suicide becomes infatuated with a young Thai girl after bonding over her sister's car accident . Slow paced storytelling, even the love connection is messy. Some may praise cinematography for this is average for Christopher Doyle ..
Takashi Miike makes a cameo
DDCinemaClub
This charming, hypnotic film demonstrates that the power of love should never be underestimated.Christopher Doyle, under the careful direction of Pen-ek Ratanaruang, crafts some sensual, dreamy imagery.The soundtrack, the methodical silences, the broken English dialogue, the juxtaposition of the central characters – every cinematic element simply enchants.This is more than a simple love story, it's a well crafted thought piece that doesn't disappoint. Divorced Dads Cinema Club Rating 80% – An endearing piece of foreign cinema
Paul Magne Haakonsen
"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.
Nuno Duarte
Kenji (Tadanobu Asano), a thirty-something year-old Japanese librarian living in Thailand, who doens't suffer from obsessive–compulsive disorder but he surely exaggerates about cleaning or packing. Anyway, has a complicated brother whose scams and irresponsible acts leave Kenji's house with two dead bodies in it, his brother's and the assassin's. For the record, there's a scene where we see Kenji spying on a girl in a uniform, Nid (Laila Boonyasak), who works on the bar where we previously watch Kinji's brother. Kenji's got to run. Having already tried to kill himself before, he heads to a bridge and while preparing to jump, as he looks back a running over takes place right behind him. Nid was the victim He immediately helps the injured young woman and ends up requesting shelter to the girl who'd been making company to Nid, her sister Noi (Sinitta Boonyasak). Nid didn't survive. The story is not confusing at all, told in this way. The problem is that this isn't told to you very clearly. And from this point, scenes come up where Nid and Noi alternate. Like the Asian cinema has been showing, the director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang explores both loneliness and love. Eventually, the notion of the love being explored diverges from the normal, now more related to family or friendship, but still, very inspiring and audacious. The biggest problem with this one, is that it gets incredibly boring at certain points, making it quite uncomfortable to make it until the end, 6/10
AD
