Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

2010 Comedy Drama

The recipient of the prized Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's hypnotic drama tells the haunting story of a Thai man suffering from kidney failure who retreats to the countryside to die in the company of his loved ones. As Uncle Boonmee nears the end of his life, the spirit of his late wife returns to guide him into the unknown, and his estranged son reappears in the form of a jungle spirit. Later, the ailing man leads his family on a journey to a hilltop cave where he first came into this world.

Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Starring: Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, Sakda Kaewbuadee, Nattakarn Aphaiwonk, Geerasak Kulhong

Reviews

  • What you see and hear always seems perfectly natural, even if you can't exactly say why. Who needs words when you have cinema?

    Keith Uhlich - Time Out New York

    27 May 2013

  • If anything, Joe's sense of dream logic is more naturalistic than Lynch's, more grounded in the knowable world - as much, that is, as we can know about nature - and the luminous Uncle Boonmee is no exception.

    Stephanie Zacharek - Movieline

    27 May 2013

  • Spirit, animal, and human worlds coexist in dreamy harmony in this remarkable drama.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    27 May 2013

  • I can't pretend to understand the intricacies of the Buddhist belief system that informs the surreal story, or the fantasy system in which Boonmee, embodying Thailand, recalls his nation's history and shimmering myths. Yet no effort of understanding is needed to be moved by Boonmee's descent into a limestone cave shaped like a womb.

    Joe Morgenstern - The Wall Street Journal

    27 May 2013

  • You don't have to believe in the transmigration of souls to fall languorously in love with the Thai film that won the Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival.

    Ella Taylor - NPR

    27 May 2013

Awards

  • Best Film

    Asian Film Awards (2011)

  • Apichatpong Weerasethakul

    Cannes Film Festival (2010)

  • Best Foreign Film

    Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2011)

     
  • International Film Poster Competition

    Chicago International Film Festival (2011)

  • Best Cinematography

    Chlotrudis Awards (2012)