Ruang rak noi nid mahasan (2003)

Director:

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

Writers:

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (writer)
Prabda Yoon (writer)

Release Date:

8 August 2003 (Thailand)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A suicidal, obsessive-compulsive Japanese librarian is forced to hide out with a pot-smoking Thai woman at her shabby beachside home.

Plot Keywords:

Japanese | Librarian | Thai | Bangkok Thailand | Death

Awards:

7 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Tadanobu Asano	...	Kenji
Sinitta Boonyasak	...	Noi
Laila Boonyasak	...	Nid
Yutaka Matsushige	...	Yukio
Riki Takeuchi	...	Takashi
Takashi Miike	...	Yakuza
Yôji Tanaka	...	Yakuza (as Yohji Tanaka)
Sakichi Satô	...	Yakuza
Thiti Rhumorn	...	Jon
Junko Nakazawa	...	Librarian
Akiko Anraku	...	Japanese Housewife
Nortioshi Urano	...	Salaryman
Phimchanok Nala Dube	...	Girl in Jon's Apartment
Ampon Rattanawong	...	Jon's Underling
Jakrarin Sanitti	...	Jon's Underling

Also Known As:

Chikyû de saigo no futari (Japan)
Last Life in the Universe (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexual content, language and drug use.

Runtime:

112 min | UK:109 min

Country:

Thailand | Japan

Language:

Thai | Japanese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Malaysia:18PL (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Germany:12 | Ireland:15 (IFCO) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Hong Kong:IIB

Filming Locations:

Bangkok International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Bohemian Films

Trivia:

In the library, you can see a poster of "Ichi the Killer", Asano Tadanobu's earlier film, for a few seconds. It's his character, Kakihara.

Movie Connections:

References Annie Hall (1977)

Get busy living...

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's gently observed tale of the love that develops between a suicidal Japanese librarian and a streetwise Thai woman who meet under tragic circumstances is hypnotically absorbing. Shot in a lyrical and languid style by Christopher Doyle, who abandons his trademark vivid and hyper-real use of colour, the piece has been given a muted, naturalistic look. This suits the subdued tone and measured pace of the film which focuses on emotion rather than action. Ratanaruang, describes Last Life in the Universe as his most tender film, and this is as good a word as any to describe the relationship of Tadanobu Asano's Kenji, and Sinitta Boonyasak's Noi.

After unhappy fate has brought them together Noi and Kenji find sanctuary in each other. Kenji, deeply introspective, disconnected from reality, and suicidal, is literally saved from himself by Noi, whose joie de vivre, though dampened by grief, is infectious. Noi brings energy, colour, and most importantly life, to Kenji's dull and organised universe. Kenji brings a sense of order and balance to Noi's chaotic life, and his tranquil non-intrusive presence helps Noi to cope with her grief and the resulting sense of loneliness. As Ratanaruang claims, it is very tenderly done, and this is translated into the performance of both leads.

Asano, hugely famous in Japan for playing offbeat characters, brings a restrained sense of wonder to Kenji whose growing appetite for life is communicated in simple gestures such as a draw on a cigarette, or a ruffle of his hair. Boonyasak, in what is a very difficult first role, does exceptionally well to convince as a woman who though filled with grief has an irrepressible lust for life. Part of what fascinates the audience about both characters is the ambiguity that surrounds them. They are both without a history, especially Kenji who appears to have been linked to the Yakuza, and though it is never made clear why he is in Thailand there is an implication that he may have a murky past in Japan.

Reduced to the basics then Last Life in the Universe is a simple love story with very familiar themes; opposites attract, and the redemptive power of love. That this well-trodden path is followed again here takes nothing away from the film however, as though the story unfolds slowly it is well paced, well acted, and sensuously shot. The only potential weakness was Ratanaruang's inclusion of the comic gangster element (actor/director Takashi Miike plays a mob boss bent on revenge) which could very easily have been Last Life in the Universe's Achilles' heel, upsetting the tone and balance. As it turns out the Yakuza scenes work very well. In the context of the story Miike, and his henchmen do not seem out of place, and the absurd humour that they inject provides a necessary distraction from the studied inaction of Kenji and Noi. Overall then the elements combine to make Last Life in the Universe an unmissable film.