Last Life in the Universe

Ratanaruang (6ixtynin9) worked for Last Life in the Universe with cameraman Christopher Doyle (working here on a level that can match his work for Wong Kar-wai) and the Japanese star actor Asano (who received the Upstream prize in Venice for his role). This pan-Asian cooperation resulted in a gripping, occasionally even tranquil film about modern loneliness and strange relationships, filled with wisdom and undercooled humour. The Thai title means something like ‘a tiny gigantic love story’. Kenji has more or less hidden himself away as a librarian with the Japan Foundation in Bangkok. Among the many obsessively ordered books in his spotless, empty apartment, is a children’s book about the last lizard on the planet. He feels just like that animal right now. His main leisure activity is thinking about suicide. We know no more about his past than what is suggested by the large Yakuza tattoo on his back, but one evening at home, Kenji kills a gangster, who has just killed Kenji’s brother. That same evening, Noi, a slovenly girl who lives in an even untidier house, is partly responsible for the death of her little sister. Through a twist of fate, the lives of Kenji and Noi become inextricably intertwined. For the fans: in the final act, Miike Takashi and his Ichi the Killer co-writer Sato Sakichi can be seen as Yakuzas. This screening is dedicated to Duangkamol Limcharoen.