Award winning Thai romantic crime movie “Last Life in the Universe” (2003) directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and starring Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonsayak, Laila Boonsayak, Yutaka Matsushige among others.
Its an unlikely romantic story between a Japanese librarian Kenji (Tadanobu Asano) in Bangkok, who is constantly trying to kill himself and Noi (Sinitta Boonsayak), a Thai girl who is a waitress.
Noi’s sister Nid (Laila Boonsayak) goes around with Yukio (Yutaka Matsushige), Kenji’s brother who is a yakuza gangster having escaped from Japan from his bosses. Yukio slept with his boss’s daughter, so they are after his life. His friend Takashi (Riki Takeuchi) has been sent to kill Yukio.
In Kenji’s neatly kept house, Takashi kills Yukio and Kenji kills Takashi with a gun brought in by Yukio. He then goes to the bridge to kill himself. There Nid and Noi come along and they are arguing with each other on the busy road. Nid is killed by an oncoming vehicle and Noi and Kenji are stunned. Kenji is fascinated with Nid who comes to his library to collect books.
Kenji then goes with Noi to her rural house which is very dirty and he cleans it. Slowly Kenji and Noi start liking each other. Noi is planning to go to Osaka for a job. The ending is quite unpredictable and kind of despairing as well as redeeming.
Its a beautifully told story of two people from different cultures coming together, a kind of unsaid love. The pace of the movie is quite easy and camera work perfect. Sinitta Boonsayak looks gorgeous with her classy looks and Tadanobu Asano the perfect foil for her, a studious silent kind of person. IMDB 5/10
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