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.
