Review of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) by Ken T — 27 Nov 2010
Palme d'Or winner at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival - this is the latest cinematic experience from Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Boonmee is a rural farmer in the final stages of kidney failure. He is visited by family in his final days - both real and supernatural.
He is prepared for his death and seems to not really be too bothered by the event - which leads to a complaint about the film being the characters are quite emotionally detached considering the circumstances - perhaps also the acting a little wooden.
Nevertheless, Uncle Boonmee features many signatures of past Weerasethakul works - stunningly beautiful framed compositions and the dual nature of jungle and city. The film also segues into other territory and the beings with the red eyes are incredibly haunting and mysterious.
Uncle Boonmee also enters into David Lynch territory in the sense that it may be difficult to understand what the viewer has just seen. And the soundtrack with the jungle noises are incredibly well rendered.
Viewers not familiar with the Thai auteur may find the film quite slow moving with shots lingering long past the Hollywood norm. However, in all, the film is incredibly gorgeous with a unique story told in a manner that only Weerasethakul can.
This review of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) was written by Ken T on 27 Nov 2010.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives has generally received positive reviews.
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