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IMDbPro

Last Life in the Universe

Original title: Ruang rak noi nid mahasan
  • 20032003
  • RR
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
50,980
24,240
Last Life in the Universe (2003)
ComedyDramaRomance
A suicidal, obsessively compulsive Japanese librarian is forced to lie low in Thailand with a pot-smoking woman coping with the recent loss of her sister.A suicidal, obsessively compulsive Japanese librarian is forced to lie low in Thailand with a pot-smoking woman coping with the recent loss of her sister.A suicidal, obsessively compulsive Japanese librarian is forced to lie low in Thailand with a pot-smoking woman coping with the recent loss of her sister.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
11K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
50,980
24,240
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
    • Writers
      • Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
      • Prabda Yoon
    • Stars
      • Tadanobu Asano
      • Sinitta Boonyasak
      • Takashi Miike
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
    • Writers
      • Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
      • Prabda Yoon
    • Stars
      • Tadanobu Asano
      • Sinitta Boonyasak
      • Takashi Miike
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 51User reviews
    • 79Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 9 wins & 11 nominations

    Photos22

    Tadanobu Asano and Sinitta Boonyasak in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Tadanobu Asano and Sinitta Boonyasak in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Pen-Ek Ratanaruang in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Pen-Ek Ratanaruang in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Tadanobu Asano and Sinitta Boonyasak in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Tadanobu Asano and Sinitta Boonyasak in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Tadanobu Asano and Sinitta Boonyasak in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Tadanobu Asano and Sinitta Boonyasak in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Tadanobu Asano and Sinitta Boonyasak in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Sinitta Boonyasak in Last Life in the Universe (2003)
    Last Life in the Universe (2003)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tadanobu Asano
    Tadanobu Asano
    • Kenji
    Sinitta Boonyasak
    • Noi
    Takashi Miike
    Takashi Miike
    • Yakuza
    Laila Boonyasak
    • Nid
    Yutaka Matsushige
    Yutaka Matsushige
    • Yukio
    Riki Takeuchi
    Riki Takeuchi
    • Takashi
    Yôji Tanaka
    • Yakuza
    • (as Yohji Tanaka)
    Sakichi Sato
    • Yakuza
    Thiti Rhumorn
    • Jon
    Junko Nakazawa
    • Librarian
    Akiko Anraku
    • Japanese Housewife
    Nortioshi Urano
    • Salaryman
    Phimchanok Nala Dube
    • Girl in Jon's Apartment
    Ampon Rattanawong
    • Jon's Underling
    Jakrarin Sanitti
    • Jon's Underling
    Songsith Visunee
    • Old Man on the Bus
    Prayoon Tiancharoenwong
    • Old Man at the Outdoor Bar
    Jakrapan Ruttajak
    • Security Guard
    • Director
      • Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
    • Writers
      • Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
      • Prabda Yoon
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The actresses who play Nid and Noi are real sisters.
    • Connections
      References Annie Hall (1977)

    User reviews51

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    I do like a suicidal man with an ordered wardrobe.
    Kenji (Tadanobu Asano) is a depressed, introverted Japanese man living in Bangkok with suicidal fantasies. He is not so simple as his quiet demeanour hopes to portray. His past is complicated and therefore he controls his present state with an OCD-repressed lifestyle. His clothes are colour co-ordinated, his socks ironed and folded, and his books are stacked so neatly there's an urge to reach into the TV and throw them around the room just to set the sterile organisation off-kilter.

    The dream-like unreality of Kenji is punctuated by his meeting of Nid (Laila Boonyasak) and her subsequent departure. Her sister Noi (played by Nid's real-life sister, Sinitta Boonyasak) is suddenly in his life, and her home serves as an escape for a disturbing event that happens in Kenji's apartment. Their personalities are as contradictory as they are complimentary - she is as messy as he is organised, as free as he is controlled. He brings her life into order and she brings his into disarray.

    The developing romance between the two is difficult to categorise. Kenji imagines on occasion that Noi has become Nid; it's almost as if Noi is the next best thing and he doesn't appreciate her for herself. This is however usurped by the ending, of which I won't give away. That has to be down to individual interpretation and perhaps can't be seen definitively anyway.

    Director and co-writer Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's portrayal of a Japanese man and Thai woman's blossoming relationship is illustrated with their stilted dialogue - it veers from Thai, to Japanese, to halting English. Their mis-understandings of language are juxtaposed with their understandings of each other. There is nothing so clear as body language and this film relies heavily on the physicality of the two leads, both of whom give near-flawless performances. Asano in particular cannot be helped being taken to the viewers' heart; it's obvious here why he has such a high status in Japan. Boonyasak is not so sympathetic, but she is perhaps not meant to be, and she serves her purpose well.

    There's some brilliant comic moments peppered throughout, but the poignant moments counter-balance these well. The ending gives some insight into Kenji's past but must be viewed more than once to appreciate. This is not a simple or straight-forward film, but nor is it complicated or pretentious.

    Last Life in the Universe is difficult to sum up without mentioning its imagery, of which you have to see for yourself to appreciate, or describing it with the words 'beautiful' and 'subtle' - I almost managed it.
    helpful•66
    6
    • Two_Pieces_of_Christina
    • Jun 5, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 8, 2003 (Thailand)
    • Countries of origin
      • Thailand
      • Japan
      • Netherlands
    • Languages
      • Thai
      • Japanese
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Universums sista dagar
    • Filming locations
      • Bangkok International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
    • Production companies
      • Bohemian Films
      • Cathay Asia Films
      • Cinemasia
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $32,014
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,833
      • Aug 8, 2004
    • Gross worldwide
      • $63,095
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 52 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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