HER PRIVATE HELL

It has been ten whole years since director Nicolas Winding Refn has graced cinema screens in multiplexes around the world with a brand new film. His previous film, “The Neon Demon”, came out in 2016, but since that time Refn hasn't exactly remained dormant. Instead he produced two idiosyncratic television series, “Too Old to Die Young” in 2019 for Prime and “Copenhagen Cowboy” in 2022 for Netflix. Refn also recovered from a very serious heath scare, but now he is back with “Her Private Hell”, a film that he promised would be “an edgy, hypnotic and unhinged thriller based on an original story that promises lots of glitter, sex, and violence." Granted, he seems to have described every Nicolas Winding Refn film, but I could not wait to see this, with “Her Private Hell” making it onto my most anticipated films of 2026 list.

To try and describe the plot of “Her Private Hell” is no easy feat but I will do my best at giving a brief synopsis. The film begins with Elle arriving at a mysterious hotel where she is to start shooting a new sci-fi movie based on a popular comic book entitled “The Candyfloss Girls”. The film is being financed by her father, Johnny Thunders, whom Elle has a strained relationship with since he married her former best friend and lover, Dominique. To increase the awkwardness in the shoot, Dominique is to be one of Elle's co-stars in the film, with Johnny Thunders hoping this will bring the girls closer together once more. However, before they can get too far into shooting, the girls (which also includes Hunter, an influencer also cast in a key role in the film) become aware of a vicious serial killer, dubbed “The Leatherman”, who is going around killing young women who happen to cross his path. The urban legend of The Leatherman is that he was once a distraught father who, after his daughter went missing, he searched his whole lifetime looking for her, to the point that he forgot what he was searching for. Only when a mysterious mist descends upon the city, does he remember, and then nothing will stop in his way to find his little girl, with him destroying anyone who reminds him of what he has lost. (Still with me?). A second story line also runs parallel to the first, set in post war Japan where Private K is also searching the streets for his own missing (feared dead) daughter, appearing to lose his humanity in the process. Eventually, these two story lines begin to merge into one.

I am quite a big fan of Nicolas Winding Refn's films, and have seen every one he has made to date. That is not to say that I love them all, but I do love when a filmmaker has a distinct style that is easy to identify in seconds as to who the author of the film was. Refn has this in spades, he makes films that only could have been made by him. What I am trying to get across here is that I knew what I was getting into before I watched “Her Private Hell” and yet I found the film still, at times, confounded me. For mine, Refn's absolute masterpiece is his 2011 film “Drive”, but since that film he has descending down a rabbit hole of his own making where his movies seem to prioritise the visuals and atmosphere, rather than a clear narrative for the audience to grasp. Since then, I also think has had mixed success, as I found “Only God Forgives”, whilst beautifully made and stunningly shot, to be a bit of a disaster and an absolute slog to get through, whilst “The Neon Demon” fared more positively, the surreal elements within the film did it no favours. Similarly, his two television series were made in the same style, with “Too Old to Die Young” at least attempting to tell a story, whereas “Copenhagen Cowboy” I found very hard to truly understand what was going on. Again, both series look magnificent. When the trailer for “Her Private Hell” was finally released, I will admit that I feared that we were headed down a similar path, as it looked exactly like a Nicolas Winding Refn film, but it also came across as vapid and a little silly. To be honest, I was a little worried about the finished product.

Despite it being hyper (over?) stylised, and set in a dream-like make believe world, I was actually with “Her Private Hell” for at least a good hour, before I felt the film totally fell apart. During this initial hour, whilst very odd and surreal, it still felt plotted, that there was some internal logic within the film and its rules that made some kind of sense. It felt like Refn was deliberately leading us somewhere even if the journey to this destination was more than a little unusual. By the time the second half of the film began, I no longer felt this. The control I thought Refn had over his story was no longer there, and instead was replaced with scenes that appeared to exist only because they looked “cool” rather than there being any connective tissue from previous scenes beforehand. I believe I know the reason for this, which became obvious through interviews I read with Refn about the film after I saw it, but I will get to that in a moment. Personally, I love a bit of mystery in my movies, and I love puzzle films where you have to put the pieces together to understand what is truly going on (I am a massive David Lynch fan, after all!). The first hour of “Her Private Hell” had something of a fairy tale quality to it, and whilst a little convoluted and confusing, I thought the cautionary tale of “The Leatherman” was done well too. I believe its Johnny Thunders that states the moral of story which is to “watch over your daughters, or the Leatherman will!” Refn (like myself) is married with two daughters himself, so I thought this was a nice little personal detail included in his film. The way “Her Private Hell” is edited, we know there is some connection between Elle and Private K, even if it is just Elle dreaming the Private K section of the film, but by the time these two story lines do connect to turn into a single narrative, I have no idea how or why it happens. By this stage, the film makes no sense at all.

As I predicted right from the top, “Her Private Hell” looks amazing, and Refn and his cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Jonck have created some truly stunning images within the film, BUT I also have to say that after awhile all of the constant neon and flashing lights does end up becoming repetitive to the point that it starts to lose its power. I hate to say it but it is starting to appear that Refn is actually becoming a parody of himself, as it appears that this is the only way he knows how to shoot a film these days. Again, I love his use of colour (I am always amazed by this because Refn is colour blind) and the fact that he is one filmmaker who is not afraid of using bright colours to tell his stories, but too much of a good thing is still too much, and ends up having a negative effect on the audience. In terms of acting, I really felt for the actors who star in “Her Private Hell” because they are given almost nothing to work with the film. This is because they are essentially playing ciphers rather than real characters. Everyone moves and emotes in a slow dreamy state, but every emotion feels forced, stylised and fake. I do not blame the actors at all here for their uninspiring performances, as this is obviously how they have been directed to act from Refn, and the film's story line also does them no favours. There is even a truly embarrassing moment when three of the girls communicate like wolf pups, barking, which makes me shudder each time I think about it. Sadly the two leads, Sophie Thatcher as Elle and Charles Melton as Private K, are given no opportunity to impress in this film. There are only two performances in the film that are worth mentioning, and that is Havana Rose Liu who gives her all and tries her hardest to make Dominique into a real three dimensional character, and Hidetoshi Nishijima who is excellent playing a Japanese cop, but is totally wasted because his scenes feel completely divorced from the rest of the film.

The greatest asset of “Her Private Hell” though has to be Pino Donaggio's excellent score which, in my opinion, does most of the heavy lifting in creating the film's atmosphere and fairy tale wonder. As I am a massive Brian de Palma fan, it goes without saying that I am also a big Donaggio fan and think that the music he made for de Palma is some of my favourite in cinema history (I love, love, love his score for “Dressed to Kill”!). His score for “Her Private Hell” ranks right up there with his best, and unusually, “Her Private Hell” is wall to wall with his music. I cannot think of a moment in the film bereft of Donaggio's score, but again the music is outstanding, and it seems that this great composer has been really inspired by the visuals in Refn's film.

Ok, so where did it all go wrong for “Her Private Hell”? Unusual for film productions, Refn shot the film chronologically, and I think this was only possible due to the small cast and very limited locations. In fact, at times the film does have a “cheap” feel to it, in that I am sure that the production had a very modest budget at best. That in itself is not the problem, as having limited resources often breeds creativity as filmmakers have to come up with interesting ways to shoot scenes to make them look more expensive. The issue is the fact that because it was shot chronologically, Refn has been able to change his script as he went along, which he has admitted to in interviews regarding this film. The big reveal was that he totally changed the original ending, and not only that, he kept the new ending a secret from both his cast and crew to keep them “intrigued”. The problem with this is no one knows what they are working towards anymore, meaning depths of performances may no longer make sense, as well as building up of emotions for later scenes that now do not exist. Personally, I am sure [potential spoilers incoming.....] that the original plan was that Private K was meant to morph into the Leatherman; we were essentially being told his origin in the parallel story to Elle's. I also think that originally either Elle or all the girls were meant to be victims of the Leatherman by the film's end. To be honest, this makes perfect sense of everything that takes place in that opening hour, and would've made “Her Private Hell” so much more satisfying than the end result (even if it would've been a little simplistic). However Refn has stated that he saw a different and more obvious connection between Elle and Private K than he originally intended when he began shooting, and that is why he changed it, but it no longer makes any sense because the second half of the film is not connected to the first. We now have Private K appearing in Elle's timeline fighting against the Leatherman, making the film totally fall apart (not to mention Refn goes back to his obsession with hands like in “Only God Forgives”, where the Leatherman can only be killed if you remove said hands.......um, what?) [end of spoilers].

Overall, whilst I did have a good time with the opening half of “Her Private Hell”, when I thought it was leading to planned concrete destination, by the time the second half began the film had totally fallen apart and wasted all the goodwill it had earned. I will admit that it has been stunningly photographed like all of Refn's films, but it is getting to the point when Refn is becoming a parody of himself, and I think he really needs to start focusing less on his visuals and more on telling an excellent story again. He is very capable of doing this, as his early filmography up to and including “Drive” shows, but with the style he is currently employing, he is wasting the acting talents of his cast by giving them little to do, to the point that I felt embarrassed for them during some scenes of “Her Private Hell”. It isn't an out and out disaster like I thought “Only God Forgives” was, it does have a stunning score from Pino Donaggio that is worth hearing, but it is a massive disappointment from a great director who has been missing from our screens for the past decade.

2.5 Stars.

 

 

FJORD

 

Each year when the Cannes Film Festival line-up is announced, I eagerly scan through the titles and work out what films are likely certainties to also make it onto the Melbourne International Film Festival programme. However the past two years I have been surprised by films that I was sure would make it to MIFF, that ended up playing in a local Scandinavian film festival that runs the month prior, to the point that I was very lucky not to miss the chance to see these films on the big screen. The films in question were Aki Kaurismaki's “Fallen Leaves” (2023) and Joachim Trier's “Sentimental Value” (2025). This year I was ready, and assumed that Cristian Mungiu's new film “Fjord” would play in the Scandinavian film festival prior to MIFF, which turned out to be the case. After coming away with the coveted Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, the buzz around “Fjord” has been huge, so did it live up to the high praise the film has been receiving?

The Hurtigruten Nordic Film Festival website describes the film like so: “The Gheorghius, a devout Christian Romanian Norwegian couple, move to a village set in a remote fjord. They quickly become close to their neighbours, the Halbergs, and their children soon bond despite their different education and upbringing. But, when adolescent Elia Gheorghiu shows up at school with some bruises on her body, the community asks itself if the traditional education that the Gheorghiu children receive from their parents might have anything to do with it.”

Aside from winning the Palme d'Or, “Fjord” also made it onto my list of most anticipated films of 2026 (what an honour, huh?), and this was purely due to the talents of Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. He is outstanding at tackling tough material without demonising any of his characters. Rather he presents his dramatic situations as honestly as possible, usually asking more questions than he answers. He gives space within his films for a viewer to add their own point of view on any given subject he tackles, giving them an access point into the film to become an active participant. He respects his audience totally, and this respect also spreads to his characters and the narrative he is telling. He always has something to say, but it never feels like he is preaching to his audience or skewing his story to make them feel a certain way. The world's of Mungiu's films are always filled with greys, nothing is ever black or white, and the film's themselves are stronger for this reason. After saying all of that, now I have to reveal that for me “Fjord” was not as powerful, nor worked as well as Mungiu's previous films. Do not get me wrong, “Fjord” is a good film, but I was expecting a great film from this talented director.

Like all of Cristian Mungiu's films prior, “Fjord” is another interesting moral drama, this time once again looking at the plight and treatment of immigrants. Whilst in his previous film “R.M.N”, Mungiu looked at how Sri Lankan immigrants were treating in his own country of Romania, this time around the immigrants of “Fjord” are Romanians who have moved to Norway. The crux of the drama has to do with the different parenting styles of the Romanian family compared to those of the Norwegians, and the fact that spanking a child in Norway is an illegal act, whereas for a Romanian (and many other countries around the world), this is a normal form of parental punishment. The smack is in no way done in an abusive manner, rather as a learning tool, but moving to a country where such an act is outlawed, this is where the drama only begins for the poor Gheorghiu family. Growing up in Australia, where a smack on the bum is considered normal, for much of the running time of “Fjord” I could not help but feel a sense of anger in the way the Gheorghiu family are treated. They are portrayed as common criminals, whereas we know the opposite; this is a loving and caring family, who respect one another, but who also live by a set of rules, that if broken, are cause for punishment. A moment of discipline is also seen as a moment to learn. Never once during “Fjord” would you not believe that this family loves each other fully. The consequences they then face, which is to have all their children immediately removed from their care and put into foster homes until a later trial date, is much more abusive than anything that the Gheorghiu parents have committed, and potentially more traumatic for the children too. The fact that the parents are then told that if they do not co-operate with the removal of their children, it will reflect poorly on them later during their trial, I defy anyone to not let their blood boil at such an ordeal. Mungiu immediately offers up a counterpoint in parental technique and in the validity of one method over another, when we are witness to the eldest daughter from the Halberg family playing up and defying her parents, who when told to stop misbehaving, replies with “Or what?”, knowing there is no way her parents can punish her. The Gheorghiu family are then subjected to more abuse when locals start to use their Christian beliefs as another example of the way the parents are abusing their children, by indoctrinating them in their faith and beliefs. The Norwegian locals are convinced the children are being brainwashed, simply because this family's beliefs are different from their own.

With “Fjord”, Mungiu tells his tale using an observational style involving a lot of long takes, and few close-ups. Surprisingly though, I found the film to be a little one-note, and less emotional than the drama within the film demands. Whilst I initially was going to say that Mungiu does not pick sides and that he instead presents both sides of the drama honestly and truthfully for the viewer to decide for themselves how they feel, for once, this is not actually true, as you can sense that Mungiu feels for the plight of the Romanian couple more than the Norwegian point of view. This is further exacerbated by the fact that Mungiu really does little to look at the damage a strict religious upbringing can inflict on a child, to the point of suppressing their true feelings on certain situations. Whilst I do not think this is the case in regards to the Gheorghiu family, recognition of this still would have made “Fjord” a stronger film. As I have just mentioned above, “Fjord” is a surprisingly low key affair, and this extends to the film's performances. Whilst no one gives a bad performance per se, I felt that the emotional register needed to be higher with the huge stakes this family is facing. Cristian Mungiu has cast Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan (who re-unite after working together in 2024's “A Different Man”) as Lisbet and Mihai Gheorghiu respectively. The pair have fantastic chemistry and are very believable as husband and wife, but frustratingly I feel that Mungiu never really lets them flex their acting muscles, due to the low key approach to the drama. That said, Reinsve still gives a wonderfully human performance as a mother heartbroken by following her beliefs and ideals. Sebastian Stan is actually Romanian, and I love it when actors who make it big in Hollywood, then go back to their home country and act in their mother tongue which Stan does here. There is no vanity in his performance either, particularly in the balding look he has employed for Mihai, rather he is there for the service of the story alone. Personally I believe Stan has the most heartbreaking scene of the entirety of “Fjord” when he is witness to his wife having to give up their baby to Child Protective Services, before he breaks down in distress and anger from it all. As usual for a Cristian Mungiu film, “Fjord” has been very beautifully shot by his regular cinematographer Tudor Vladimir Panduru who makes great use of the exquisite Norwegian vistas, relying heavily on a blue colour palette, that works well with this very cold (emotionally speaking) film.

Probably the most shocking thing about “Fjord” is that it is actually based on a true story, and is a dramatisation of what happened to the Bodnariu family, when they had their children taken from them by Norwegian authorities. To think this actually happened to someone is just chilling, and highlights the fact that Child Protection Services in Norway have far too much power, particularly with the fact that they do not have to prove an assumption of abuse; an assumption is enough to remove the children from their parents. Throughout “Fjord” we constantly hear from everyone that what they have done is for the children's safety and benefit, but rarely do the kids themselves get asked what they want. There is a scene late in the film where Elia states that all she wants is to be home with her parents, but this is never taken into consideration. I'm sure we all agree that the children's health and well being should always come first, but there needs to be an acknowledgement in the nuances of each individual case, rather than a blanket procedure that works for everyone, as that quite clearly does not work, and in some cases would cause more harm.

Overall, whilst the drama within “Fjord” is palpable and at times very suspenseful, I must admit that I was frustrated with director Cristian Mungiu's low key approach to it all. I also felt the film was far too long, with scenes dragged out unnecessarily which was detrimental to the film. I will say that I have barely scratched the surface of the themes within “Fjord” in this review, there is a lot Mungiu has to say here, but unfortunately he doesn't succeed as well as he has with his previous films. Maybe this has to do with the fact that he was working in a country and a language that is not his own, and thus a reality he has not lived himself, but I didn't feel the confidence that I usually feel from this brilliant Romanian director. The film is a call for tolerance and respect for other people's beliefs, which is something I obviously can get behind, but at the end of the day I feel that whilst “Fjord” is a good film, it was not the great film I was anticipating.

3 Stars.

 

 

LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

 

With the holy trinity of director Pen-ek Ratanaruang, cinematographer Christopher Doyle, and leading man Tadanobu Asano teaming up again on a new film, 2025's “Morte Cucina” (a film I still unfortunately have yet to see), the pull to revisit their first collaboration together, “Last Life in the Universe” from 2003, has never been stronger. However, I must admit that I found myself dodging it for fear that the film would not hold up. I hold the film in such high regard, that I was fearful that by watching it again, that it could expose the fact that the film is not the masterpiece that I consider it to be. “Last Life in the Universe” was my entrance point into the cinema of Pen-ek Ratanaruang when it screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival way back in 2004. I was totally blown away by the film, and as luck would have it, it was that year that Ratanaruang was also a guest of the festival and they screened the rest of his filmography, which at the time was only four films deep. After being totally mesmerised by “Last Life in the Universe”, I quickly checked the programme to see if I could fit any screenings of Ratanaruang's previous films into my already packed schedule. Sadly I was only able to fit in his 1999 feature “6ixtynin9”, but again it was a film I ended up greatly enjoying. Since then I have been a massive fan of Pen-ek Ratanaruang's output, seeing everything he has made (minus his latest film), and loving them all (almost). Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that I hold “Last Life in the Universe” on such a high pedestal, it is such a special film to me, that I didn't want that opinion to potentially be destroyed on a re-watch. Then a couple of days ago, I found and bought an original UK quad poster of the film, and decided enough was enough, I have to re-watch “Last Life in the Universe” once and for all. So did it live up to my memory of it ? Let's take a look, shall we?

The very simple plot of the film is described on imdb, like so: “A suicidal, obsessively compulsive Japanese librarian is forced to lie low in Thailand with a pot-smoking woman coping with the recent loss of her sister.” As you can see, it is nothing we haven't seen before in other films, and when I tell you that the film ultimately evolves into a romance between the Japanese guy and Thai girl, two people that on the outside look totally opposite to each other, you may even roll your eyes at the cliché. However, it is the way Ratanaruang handles the material that makes the film so special and different. Yes, the film is not very plot heavy and is slow moving, but it has this beautiful dreamlike atmosphere to it all that makes it irresistible to the viewer. It is not sentimental at all, rather there is a sense of melancholy throughout the film that is strangely enticing. As well as all that, it is also at times very funny, in a dark sense, particularly towards the end of the film. I think another reason why the film is so successful is Ratanaruang doesn't over-explain his film, which makes certain scenes ambiguous and gives the entire movie a sense of mystery to it all. Indeed at times, you may question if what you have just witnessed actually happened or not. This is a film that you feel more than anything, through the emotions of the characters, and the tone of the film, and getting caught up in the details of certain moments ends up being detriment to the viewing experience. Instead of worrying about what a moment means, I recommend focusing more on how did that moment make you feel.

“Last Life in the Universe” begins with the introduction to our main character, Kenji, who is played by Japanese superstar Tadanobu Asano, who is excellent giving a stoic, quiet performance. Ratanaruang wastes no time in showing Kenji to be someone who is lost in life, and who believes that suicide is his way out as he has heard that it is a relaxing experience. The suicide note he holds in his hands reads “This is bliss”, before his hanging is then rudely interrupted by his brother who visits Kenji unannounced. (The brother's reaction to what he has walked in on is telling, as he snickers and says “suicide again, huh?”, as if he has seen this all before.) Kenji's entire world is planned out to the nth degree, in an OCD manner, with his apartment totally clean and laid out to perfection. His clothes, neatly folded and separated for the day they are to be worn, his book collection neatly stacked, his knives lined up in order by the millimeter, his shoes cleaned and placed on a shelf. Each day appears to hold no surprises in Kenji's life, and he is determined to end it as soon as possible. Noi, the Thai girl Kenji ends up befriending, is the complete opposite in that her apartment is as dirty as hell, she never washes a dish, and her clothes seem to never get washed either. Kenji's first experience at Noi's house is very funny because you can see how uncomfortable he is and repulsed by the mess. He finally sits down on her couch only to land in pile of dishes hidden under a magazine. The only thing these two people seem to have in common is their immense loneliness, but it is through their connection that they both are able to find a spark once more and something to live for.

Noi is played by Sinitta Boonyasak, in what was her first role in a movie, and she is quite lovely and lively in the role. She is full of colour and gives “Last Life in the Universe” a needed jolt of energy. Noi is a character who obviously lives in the moment, dealing with whatever comes her way at any time, but it just so happens that we find her at a particularly tragic moment in her life. Incidentally, Nid, Noi's younger sister is actually played by Boonyasak's real life sister, Laila Boonyasak (who actually reunited with Ratanaruang on his 2017 feature “Samui Song”), and makes quite the impression in her limited screen time. What is interesting about the connection between Noi and Kenji is that it is not helped by the fact that both of them speak different languages, although by some miracle, Noi is actually learning Japanese as she is moving to Osaka in a few days time for work. Seeing as though both characters are not fluent in the other's language, although both can understand small phrases, it means that deep conversation between the pair is not going to be something that brings them closer together. In fact, a lot of the time, Kenji and Noi have to default to English to make themselves understood. It is more about spending time with someone else, and connecting emotionally (rather than intellectually), which is really something beautiful to witness. The film's key image is of Noi falling asleep on Kenji's lap as he too is asleep sitting on the couch, content at just being in each other's company, rather than lonesome like they usually are. One aspect of the film that I absolutely loved is when Noi puts on her cassette of “Japanese Lessons”, which continually plays in the background. She never repeats any of the phrases, nor does Kenji care as he is fluent in the language, but it adds so much to the atmosphere within Noi's house and on the film as a whole.

Speaking of the images, the whole reason I went to see “Last Life in the Universe” in the first place all had to do with the fact that Christopher Doyle was the film's cinematographer. At the time, I had no idea who Pen-ek Ratanaruang even was, but I was (and still am) a massive, massive fan of Doyle, thanks largely to his work with Wong Kar Wai. As expected the images in “Last Life in the Universe” are absolutely stunning, particularly once the action ends up at Noi's house and Doyle has so many different and interesting things to photograph. Like the film itself, when Doyle's camera moves, it does so very slowly but almost glides through locations to give it an almost otherworldly feel to the point that it begins to feel like a visual poem. When his images are static, Doyle regularly finds interesting or unusual ways to frame the action onscreen. I know I'm biased because I am a massive fan, but Christopher Doyle just sees the world differently from other cinematographers, and he always finds unexpected ways to shoot the mundane to make it more exciting, whilst still functioning for the good of the film. There is one particular shot of Kenji just laying in a bathtub, that as soon as it hit the screen, I was bolted back in time to the first time I saw that shot when it impressed me so. It is an amazingly beautiful shot, but again, it is just a man sitting in a bath, but through the eyes of Christopher Doyle.

I mentioned earlier that “Last Life in the Universe” is also quite a funny film, and this has to do initially with the differences between our two main characters, and Kenji trying to cope in this alien and very dirty world (such as when he is trying to find the ringing phone, among all the mess of the house). The comedy becomes a little broader towards the end when three Japanese yakuza members arrive from Japan in search of Kenji. The leader of the gang is played by none other than Japanese cult director Takashi Miike, and Ratanaruang gives him some deliciously funny lines to say. The funniest moment would be when the customs officer at the Thai airport asks how long he will be staying in the country and he delivers his line in such a dead-panned way saying “Only a day. We just have to kill one guy and then we are coming home”. The customs officer laughs at his joke, even though he was being dead serious. Pen-ek Ratanaruang also has a lot of fun with his film too as there a little subtle references to other films throughout, with the most obvious being a poster hanging in the library where Kenji works for “Ichi the Killer”, which is directed by Takashi Miike and starring Tadanobu Asano himself. It's a cute moment when Kenji walks past the poster, for those who get the reference. Another nod is to Ratanaruang's earlier film “6ixtynin9” when that turns out to be the gate number where the yakuza's would need to board their plane. Aside from film references, Ratanaruang also includes a couple of moments of “magical realism” which give the film a sense of whim and whimsy, and are really lovely and memorable.

Overall, I am happy to say that I was not disappointed in my revisit of Pen-ek Ratanaruang's “Last Life in the Universe”, and I still consider it his masterpiece. It is an unusual and lovely film about loneliness and love, and how even the smallest of connections between two people can change their lives forever. There is a lovely moment towards the end of the film when Kenji returns to his very ordered apartment (which he has been avoiding due to the smell inside), and he walks past his carefully stacked books and decides to knock them over and create a small mess. I should note that there are a number of plot elements in the film that I have deliberately avoided, as I feel that it is so much better to discover them yourself in the process of watching the film, but if you are reading this review thinking the film doesn't sound like much, there is more to it than I have explained. That said, again, this is not a plot heavy film. It is a movie you feel more than anything, and it is a movie that I have once again fallen in love with. It also further whets the appetite for the trio's third film together, “Morte Cucina”, which I am praying will be playing at this year's Melbourne Film Festival (it has been announced for Sydney's film festival next month, with Ratanaruang appearing as a guest of that festival).

4.5 Stars.