Dir. Pen-ek Ratanaruang, 2003, Japan/Thailand, 104 mins, Subtitles
Cast:
Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Lalia Boonyasak, Yukata Matsushige, Takashi Miike
Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Last Life in the Universe tells the story of Kenji (Asano), a Japanese librarian living in Bangkok whose mundane but ordered life is thrown into chaos when his Yakuza brother (Matsushige) is assassinated and the girl he loves (Lalia Boonyasak) is killed in a car accident. With this incredibly complex premise established (and the film's title appearing nearly half an hour in to make us aware of this), Last Life In the Universe could easily go in one of many familiar directions but manages to successfully resist the pull of more conventional genre cinema.
Kenji takes refuge at the country house of Noi (Sinitta Boonyasak) - the dead girl's sister - and much of the story takes place here with only brief glimpses of the outside world to show us the ever-increasing danger that threatens them both. While we are nervously waiting for the Yakuza or Noi's violent ex-boyfriend to turn up at the door, Noi and Kenji slowly fall in love producing an atmosphere that is forever tense despite the tranquil images on the screen. There are many issues presented in the film (family, identity and death among others) but rather than explore them directly we are often protected from them, hidden away in the house with the two lovers. The simplicity of the love story (neither Noi or Kenji can speak each other's language and much of their dialogue is spoken in brief, broken English) draws us into their relationship to the point where we fear the issues that the film looks set to explore as much as the very real dangers to the couple.
One of the most prominent themes in the film is that of homelessness. Kenji is not only exiled from his country, but can also never return to his flat in Bangkok as that would mean facing two dead bodies, the police and possibly death. For Noi the notion of home is destroyed by the death of her sister and she has made plans to move to Japan.
This strand of the story is made more interesting by the international nature of the production and the nationalities of the three biggest creative influences on the film. Although Ratanaruang describes Last Life In The Universe as a Thai film - "Even the character of a Japanese guy who works around Asoke is a very local, very Bangkok notion for me" - the work of Sydney-born cinematographer Christopher Doyle plays an important role in the look of the film. Despite the Thai setting Noi's beautifully photographed house appears as a kind of neutral paradise that could at times be anywhere in the world. Doyle himself has worked in Hong Kong, America and Australia with directors as diverse as Wong Kar-Wai (Chungking Express, Fallen Angels), Gus Van Sant (Psycho) and Philip Noyce (Rabbit Proof Fence).
There is also a strong Japanese element, particularly as Tadanobu Asano has starred in some of Japan's most successful films of recent years such as Zatoichi and Ichi the Killer. Ichi the Killer in particular is referenced in Last Life In The Universe both through a poster in the foreground of one scene and the casting of Ichi The Killer director Takashi Miike as the Yakuza hitman hired to kill Kenji. However it is a tribute to Asano's talent that his quiet, restrained Kenji is such a direct contrast to his violent, uncontrollable Kakihara in Miike's film.
With such wide array of themes and influences it is perhaps disappointing that the film reaches a rather mediocre conclusion. The ending is neither tragic nor uplifting, and though this has its merits in realism, it takes much of the impact away from what could have been either a devastating or life-affirming experience. Ultimately, the time we spend with Kenji and Noi in their private paradise is beautiful, moving, surprising and often humorous. But the life they face after the credits roll is much the same as the one we face as we leave the cinema.
Chris Regan |
