Reviews of Last Life in the Universe
Displaying all 2 reviews
Salamo
26May09
I did not like this film one bit. What could have been a complex and meditative film turns out to be rather trite due to it’s one dimensional screenplay and characters. I despised the film’s protagonist mostly because he wasn’t elevated past the label of the suicidal introvert. The characters don’t grow or change in any way, they just sit like rocks within the story’s parameter. Things happen every once in a while, but the situations are far too trivial to care about. “This is bliss”… right.
- Currently 1.0/5 Stars.
Christine Szabo
2Dec08
Very slow paced, hauntingly beautiful… This is one of those films you can’t watch once and expect to get everything out of it. Each time I watch it, I notice another little trinket Pen-Ek threw in there. Asano is both quiet and brilliant, and Sinitta and Laila are beautiful.
This film is very similar to Lost in Translation in that it is pairing two people together who otherwise would never be friends if it wasn’t for their current situation. The only difference is, where Bob and Charlotte shared a common bond in that they were both strangers in a strange land, Kenji and Noi are both very different strangers who find themselves escaping a place they’ve always known.
The film is very slow paced, sometimes long periods of time go by without any dialogue, but that’s perfectly alright. Pen-Ek (like Miss Coppola) allows the scenery and the characters silences to tell the story.
This film is not for everyone. Many friends of mine who saw it complained of it being too slow and more “surreal” then they had originally anticipated. Nevertheless, if you enjoy films by Sofia, Ingmar, etc… where you are given a simple little story and the characters are what make the film, then this is a must-see.
- Currently 4.0/5 Stars.