Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Review

Let me start by clarifying one pretty important thing: a have absolutely no idea what Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is about. I have seen a lot of bewildering pictures over my 30 plus years on this planet, and this is at or near the top of the list of being utterly head scratching cinema. 

Despite this, I really, really enjoyed it.

Uncle Boonmee is suffering from acute kidney failure and his days are sadly numbered. What little remains of his life he wishes to spend with his loved ones, including the spirit of his late wife and his son who has been missing for some time, but he returns...as a monkey with glowing red eyes. With them, Boonmee explores his previous lives in a search for answers as to why his time is ending with such an unfortunate fate.

Okay, so I suppose I can't say I have no idea what it is about, that seems like a lie. Clearly the concept of reincarnation is vital to the story, but what occurs along the way is what has me baffled. Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul crafted something enigmatic and completely fascinating here, and being that I am open minded regarding the topics of life, death, ghosts and the possibilities of an afterlife, I was pulled in early by this one and the film never let go.

Rather than becoming frustrated by such unique, confounding cinema, embrace it. I will eventually come back to Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and see if I can start peeling back the layers.

4/5

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring Review

Isolation.

For some it is a word that invokes fear, as nothing is worse than being separated from the hectic flow of civilization. For some a city made up of millions of people and towering skyscrapers is something to strive for, an ideal place to reside. 

Not me. The tranquility on display during the film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring filled me with envy. The picturesque setting was like something I would dream of at night, only to wake up and wish the sandman could take me right back the next time I closed my eyes. In the film, a tiny house floats on a peaceful, secluded lake, and inside this Buddhist monastery is an elder monk and his young apprentice. The story is broken up by seasons, or rather sections of the life of the young monk in training, and it is told in a shockingly peaceful, eloquent manner considering director Kim Ki-duk is widely known for telling violent stories. 

I found it impossible not to be relaxed by the atmosphere and flow of this film, which is both a good and a bad thing. Good because it perfectly suited the intended tone and the lifestyle of the characters, bad because my first attempt at viewing Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring resulted in me falling asleep halfway through and waking up on the couch with neck pain. It isn't that the film is boring, it is anything but, but its methodical nature and smooth style of storytelling plays almost like a sound machine intended on making us drift away on the lake with them.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring is beautiful, plain and simple. It's gorgeous to look at and it is a fascinating way to portray what is essentially the circle of life. I may have fallen asleep the first night, but I couldn't wait to pick it up where I left off when I awoke.

4/5