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Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Loong Boonmee raleuk chat

Thailand, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands

2010

113 Min
Color
1.85:1
Thai, French
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
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DIR Apichatpong Weerasethakul

PROD Simon Field, Keith Griffiths, Charles de Meaux, Luis Miñarro, Apichatpong Weerasethakul

SCR Apichatpong Weerasethakul

DP Yukontorn Mingmongkon, Sayombhu Mukdeeprom

CAST Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee, Natthakarn Aphaiwonk, Geerasak Kulhong, Kanokporn Thongaram

ED Lee Chatametikool

PROD DES Akekarat Homlaor

SOUND Akritchalerm Kalayanamitr, Koichi Shimizu

Cannes (In Competition): Palme d'Or, Melbourne (Neighbourhood Watch), New York, Toronto (Masters), London (Galas & Special Screenings), São Paulo (International Perspective), AFI FEST (World Cinema), Vancouver, Göteborg (Visionärer), CPH PIX (Maestros), BAFICI (Trayectorias), Helsinki (Avainelokuvat), Chicago

Synopsis

Uncle Boonmee is suffering from kidney failure. As an avid practitioner of Yoga, he is well aware of his body. He knows that he will die in 48 hours. He feels his illness must be related with his bad karma. He has killed too many communists, he says. Boonmee calls his distant relatives to take him back from hospital to die at home, a longan farm. There, they are greeted by the ghost of his deceased wife who has re-appeared to take care of him. His lost son also returns from the jungle in an ape-like form. The son has mated with a creature known as a ‘monkey ghost’ and has lived in the trees with her for the past 15 years. On the first night, Boonmee talks about his past lives that he remembers. On a second night, while the ghost wife is doing his kidney dialysis, Boonmee has a sudden urge to visit a place she has mentioned. So the group takes a journey into the jungle at night. It is full of animals and spirits. They finally reach a cave on top of the hill. Boonmee realizes that this is the cave in which he was born in the first life that he can remember. Then he passes away, taking with him tales that span hundreds of years. –The Match Factory

Director

Original

Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Apichatpong “Joe” Weerasethakul (Thai: อภิชาติพงศ์ วีระเศรษฐกุล; born July 16, 1970) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, and film producer. His feature films include Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, winner of the prestigious 2010 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or prize; Tropical Malady, which won a jury prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival; Blissfully Yours, which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard program at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival; and Syndromes and a Century, which premiered at the 63rd Venice Film Festival and was the first Thai film to be entered in competition there.

Working outside the strict confines of the Thai film studio system, Weerasethakul has directed several features and dozens of short films. Themes reflected in his films (frequently discussed in interviews) include dreams, nature, sexuality (including his own homosexuality), and Western perceptions of Thailand and Asia, and his films… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 187 wall posts.
Picture of Ryan Pearce

Ryan Pearce

7May13

I've taken my time getting around to seeing 'Joe's' stuff, as I'm usually not one for contemplative cinema. What a great introduction to his work this was. Beautifully dreamy.

Picture of ryan

ryan

20Mar13

Interesting, but not as moving as intended.

Picture of João Biscaia

João Biscaia

2Mar13

The intention is good.

Picture of redux

redux

25Feb13

Boring and silly.

Related Films

Fans

Displaying 5 of 1132 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

Echoes #13

By Adam Cook on April 28, 2013

Joe meets Joe: Eerie, glowing stares from The Grey & Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

read article
W184

The Best Movie Posters of 2011

By Adrian Curry on December 30, 2011

Adrian Curry selects his favorite new movie posters of the year, from Boonmee to Bill.

read article
W184

Republic of Cinema: A Book on Joe

By Zach Campbell on May 2, 2011

"My sense is that Joe and his films bring out the best in people.  And that his swift rise to prominence, to the upper ranks of

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W184

"Uncle Boonmee," "The Cable Guy," Events, DVDs, More

By David Hudson on March 2, 2011

"There are few contemporary filmmakers who grasp narrative as an expressive instrument in itself, and even among them Apichatpong Weerasethakul

read article
W184

Movie Poster of the Week: Chris Ware's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives"

By Adrian Curry on February 11, 2011

A couple of months ago I featured all the international posters for Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Palme d’Or routing Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall

read article
W184

Movie Poster of the Week: "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives"

By Adrian Curry on December 17, 2010

Back in May I wrote about the posters of Apichatpong Weerasethekul in excited anticipation of his newest film at Cannes. However, when I saw

read article
W184

Viennale 1: LIFE'S HALT

By Neil Young on October 27, 2010

Above: Ricardo Iscar's Dance to the Spirits. "When I become death, death is the seed from which I grow."—William S Burroughs, Ah Pook Is Here

read article
W184

A Listen Back: Music Discovered at TIFF 2010

By Daniel Kasman on October 3, 2010

Vincent Gallo’s Promises Written in Water and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

read article
W184

NYFF 2010. Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives"

By David Hudson on September 25, 2010

"What should be mentioned first is the quiet," advises Michael Koresky in Reverse Shot. "But when discussing Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall

read article
W184

Movie Poster of the Week: The Posters of the 48th New York Film Festival

By Adrian Curry on September 24, 2010

Put on your best costume jewelry: this evening, as every New York cinephile knows, the 48th New York Film Festival kicks off at Lincoln Center

read article
W184

Cinematic Transformation: A Talk with Apichatpong Weerasethakul

By Daniel Kasman on September 24, 2010

Photo by Fabrizio Maltese/EF Press/fabriziomaltese.com. Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives was awarded

read article
W184

Cannes 2010. Notre oncle: "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand)

By Daniel Kasman on May 24, 2010

Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives—which last night won the 2010 Palme d'Or, becoming one

read article
W184

Cannes 2010. Awards

By David Hudson on May 23, 2010

Fantastic. "Surreal," says Apichatpong Weerasethakul. He's just won the Palme d'Or for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Grand

read article
Blank

Cannes 2010. Favorite Moments: Day 9

By Daniel Kasman on May 22, 2010

Todos vós sodes capitáns (Oliver Laxe, Spain) Another simple one: I like the title.  The film is about children learning to make movies, and

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W184

Cannes 2010. Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives"

By David Hudson on May 21, 2010

Apichatpong Weerasethakul has generated the first truly electric buzz to come out of Cannes this year. Twitter began lighting up all but

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UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ, 2010): A Question for Apichatpong Weerasethakul

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, I had the great pleasure of viewing Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, which was screened
read on Twitchfilm.com

LIFF 2010: UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES review

By Twitchfilm.com on May 17, 2011
You could argue winning the Palme D’Or at Cannes might do Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives more harm than good in some respects. Drawn out, contemplative, enigmatic and ambiguous, it’s liable
read on Twitchfilm.com

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" win Festival de Cannes' top honor, the Palme d'Or

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
The title says it all really. When Apichatong Weeasethakul boards the plane to leave Cannes and they ask if he has anything to declare he can say, “Yes. I won the Palme D’or, bitches”, or something classier
read on Twitchfilm.com

Cannes 2010: Apichatpong Weerasethakul's UNCLE BOONMEE Trailer!

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
Watching the just-released trailer for Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives it’s impossible not to think of the director’s brilliant Tropical Malady. The jungle setting
read on Twitchfilm.com

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Expanding His UNCLE BOONMEE To Feature Length!

By Twitchfilm.com on April 29, 2011
Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul – simply one of the finest film makers on the planet – has spent the years since releasing his Syndromes and a Century busily making shorts and art installations around
read on Twitchfilm.com

Apichatpong Weerasethakul Expanding His UNCLE BOONMEE To Feature Length!

By Twitchfilm.net on June 29, 2010
Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul – simply one of the finest film makers on the planet – has spent the years since releasing his Syndromes and a Century busily making shorts and art installations around
read on Twitchfilm.net

Cannes 2010: Apichatpong Weerasethakul's UNCLE BOONMEE Trailer!

By Twitchfilm.net on June 29, 2010
Watching the just-released trailer for Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives it’s impossible not to think of the director’s brilliant Tropical Malady. The jungle setting
read on Twitchfilm.net

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" win Festival de Cannes' top honor, the Palme d'Or

By Twitchfilm.net on June 29, 2010
The title says it all really. When Apichatong Weeasethakul boards the plane to leave Cannes and they ask if he has anything to declare he can say, “Yes. I won the Palme D’or, bitches”, or something classier
read on Twitchfilm.net

Lists

Displaying 5 of 668 lists.

Reviews

Displaying 4 of 8

The unknown.

By LifeofF​iction on December 16, 2011
I would describe very few films as ‘a meditation,’ but Uncle Boonmee is truly a meditation on what we pursue in this life and what we take with us to the afterlife. On its’ surface it’s a film about a…

Memory and Space in Uncle Boonmee

By filmcap​sule on May 26, 2011

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, like all of Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s work, is a strange and hypnotic experience, sure to captivate some viewers while alienated…  read review

[Last Time I Saw] Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

By lasttim​eisaw on April 29, 2011

English Title: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Original Title: Loong Boonmee raleuk chat
Year: 2010
Country: Thailand, UK, France
Language: Thai
Genre: Drama, Fantasy…  read review

Ancient in its wisdom. Avant-garde in its form.

By Joshua Dysart on March 17, 2011

In a spirit haunted primordial jungle a joyful man is quietly, harmlessly dying, though there is never less than a smile on his face.

The phases of his life play out before him. He is a farmer…  read review

Forum

Displaying 6 discussion topics.

Revealing deleted scenes on Uncle Boonmee Blu-ray

7 posts by 3 people about 1 year ago

There is No End

69 posts by 20 people over 1 year ago

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is Terrible

144 posts by 46 people about 2 years ago

How should one approach Weerasethakul?

4 posts by 4 people about 2 years ago

US RELEASE DATE!

20 posts by 10 people over 2 years ago

Trailer

25 posts by 15 people over 2 years ago