Review of Last Life in the Universe (2003) by Megan C — 18 Jun 2007

This film was perfectly shot. The cinematography was beyond my highest expectations. The plot is almost irrelevant, but there's enough going on to keep the viewer engaged. I like the style of film making here where a script exists, scenes are carefully imagined and selected, and then the film is put together with just the right number of scenes to convey the plot but not too many to scramble aesthetic coherence.

Dialogue is minimal since the two protagonists speak different languages (Japanese and Thai). The movie's been called an Asian "Lost in Translation" because of the minimalist style and the similar pairing of two lonely characters in a foreign culture, but it's much better than Lost in Translation, which is more about decadence and consumerism than Last Life, which has a more sympathetic theme of love and loss.