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Written by Gregg Shapiro
Apr 21, 2011
“Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” screens on May 8 at UWM Union Theatre in Milwaukee. – Photo: Courtesy
Don’t expect to come away from “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” with a deeper meaning of life, either yours or Uncle Boonmee’s. Leisurely paced, to say the least, this work from gay Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul received the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Released from the hospital under the watchful eye of Laotian caregiver Jaai (Samud Kugasang), tamarind and bee farmer Uncle Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar) is visited in his country home by sister-in-law Jen (Jenjira Pongpas) and nephew Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee). They are joined abruptly at the dinner table by the ghost of Boonmee’s wife and Jen’s sister Huay (Natthakarn Aphaiwonk), as well as the Monkey Ghost of his son Boonsong, with the glowing red eyes.
In his final days, Boonmee comes to terms with the wrongs of his past, ranging from abandoning the search for Boonsong when he went missing to killing too many bugs and communists in his lifetime. Karma is a bitch and Boonmee, who considers his kidney failure to be proof, has accepted that fact.
But he makes the most of the end, communing with his hired help in the fields and trekking into the woods and through a cave. This is where past life memories and mythology intersect, and where less-patient viewers might give up the ghost.
But for those willing to go with the flow, “Uncle Boonmee” can be visually dazzling (in the ugly Princess and talking catfish sequence, for instance), if ultimately puzzling.
