Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Movie Review

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
Loong Boonmee raleuk chat (original title)

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Written by: Phra Sripariyattiweti (inspired by the book of), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Directed by: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Starring: Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee
Rated: --/PG-13

My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it. Read my previous movie reviews!

Plot
In this Thai film, Boonmee considers his past lives and the reasons for his illness.

Verdict
I wanted to like this, but it just didn't grab me. I expected something fantastical that delved into past and future lives, and this wasn't what I expected. This is a slow meditation on life, very slow. What you'll get out of this is as much about what you bring to it. It's focused on the craft of creating moving images at the expense of a coherent and traditional story.
Skip it.

Review
This was the first Thai film to win the top prize at the Cannes film festival, winning in 2010. It could be a poster child for divisive film buff movies. It's very focused on the imagery. That's apparent from the first scene as the camera follows a bull walking through a field. It looks great, but it eschews story and plot to focus on crafting the technical side of a movie.

I've seen this movie mentioned with a certain group of films. With that, I was expecting something really weird and off the wall. I expected Holy Motors (2012). I don't know why, but what I got is much more subdued.

It's absolutely a great look film. The imagery was created with care and attention to detail, but I wanted more from the plot and characters. This movie doesn't give you anything. While it's slow paced, if you aren't paying attention you'll quickly get lost. It's a series of flashbacks of different characters or past lives, but you aren't queued up for those, it just happens.

It's a rumination of one's life, a man close to death seeing his past. My expectations were completely subverted, and that's on me, but I don't think going in blind would have helped. Knowing to expect something different did help me give this a chance. It's the kind of movie that needs a second watch.