QUEUED UP: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

If Weerasethakul's enigmatic journey through Boonmee's life defies easy explanation, so be it. It remains exactly the type of challenging fare film festivals were intended to reward.

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QUEUED UP: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

POSTED: Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 2:00 PM

Filed Under: Movies

Movie critic (and the guy who compiles our weekly repertory film listings) Michael Gold reviews his favorite Netflix Instant flick of the week.

Keep your eye on the French Riviera as the crowning jewel of film festivals slowly approaches. In exactly two weeks, stars and execs descend on Cannes’ red carpet for an ostentatious celebration of cinema. True, other festivals are more audience-friendly or far edgier (Proof: This year’s all-male competition lineup is dominated by the usual suspects, from Anderson to Vinterberg). But still, the French fest sets the tone for what will succeed and fail on the world cinema stage — even if its top movies never quite make it big stateside.

Take 2010 Palme d’Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. The oneiric feature from Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (whose staggeringly long name matches his movie's verbose title) captivated the Cannes jury, then confounded U.S. audiences and missed out on a coveted Academy Award nom. A shame (albeit an unsurprising one), since the meditative tale of the titular uncle’s preparation for death is stunningly poignant. Perhaps Uncle Boonmee’s plot, which features dead spirits converging on Boonmee's porch to help guide him into the afterlife, is a touch obscure. Yet its parade of mesmerizing images and its meditative pace make the movie into a dazzling exploration of film form. If Weerasethakul's enigmatic journey through Boonmee's life defies easy explanation, so be it. It remains exactly the type of challenging fare festivals were intended to reward.

(michael.gold@citypaper.net) (@migold)

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