Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 5, 2011

Winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors New Wave Films. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; deleted scenes; interview with director Apichatpong Weerasethakul; and the short film "A Letter to Uncle Boonmee". In Thai, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Thai ghosts

Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is about a dying man, ghosts, and a country in transition. But it is not necessarily a film that needs to be understood; rather it is a film that needs to be experienced.

The dying man is Uncle Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar). He has returned to the village of Nubua, near the Laotian border in north-east Thailand, where his sister-in-law lives. He knows the area, its people, the animals, the trees, the winds, the shadows that scarred him when he was a kid. This is his home.

While having dinner with his son, Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee), and his sister-in-law, Jen (Jenjira Pongpas), Uncle Boonmee is visited by the ghost of his late wife, Huay. She quietly sits next to Uncle Boonmee and begins telling him about her past. The two have not seen each other in years. Soon, the ghost of his late son, Boonsong, also joins them. However, unlike Huay, who still looks young and beautiful, Boonsong has been reincarnated as a big monkey with glowing red eyes.

Eventually, Unclee Boonmee leads everyone through the jungle and deep inside a cave where he was supposedly born. It is a dark and strange place. Some of the jagged rocks look cold and ugly, others look wet and shiny. After awhile, everyone stops. Exhausted and visibly overwhelmed, Uncle Boonmee sits on the ground and sighs. It appears that this is the place he wanted everyone to see - a cold, dark, and unfriendly place. The End.

A small portion of the film also follows an ancient princess with a badly scarred face who befriends a talking fish. They meet at a small lake, somewhere deep inside a forest. At first it appears that the princess is getting ready to end her life, but the fish approaches her and quickly convinces her that she has what other women don’t; not physical beauty, but something a lot more important, something that the princess has suppressed and forgotten. Then the fish goes between her legs and she orgasms.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a deeply atmospheric film that attempts to capture the indefinable transition from life to death, and vice versa. The old man’s final moments are marked by the presence of strange sensations and memories that remind him one last time about everything he has loved throughout his life, from people and places to feelings and emotions -- then his soul quietly leaves his body.

The princess has a similar experience, though she is brought back amongst the living. The lovemaking scene symbolizes her spiritual and physical reawakening. The film does not reveal anything about her past, but it is fairly easy to realize that she has been a living ghost.

There are interesting observations in the film about the past and present of director Weerasethakul’s home country as well. For example, Uncle Boonmee confesses that killing the "commies" did not help the nation and was nothing but a "pain in the ass" (an obvious reference to the violence that occurred in Thailand between 1964-65, when the military government unleashed a massive communist purge), while Jen ponders the impact illegal immigration has had on the region.

Ultimately, however, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is not a film that needs to be overanalyzed - as it is full of life and death, simple truths and fascinating enigmas. In other words, it was never meant to be understood. It was meant to be experienced.

Note: Last year, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives won the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival. The film also won Best Foreign Language Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors New Wave Films.

Because natural light has a very prominent role (in the interview provided on this disc, director Weerasethakul addresses in detail the use of natural light), portions of the film look somewhat soft, but detail and clarity are indeed very pleasing. The daylight footage, in particular, looks terrific. Furthermore, despite the fact that the transfer is interlaced, motion-judder is never noticeable. Edge-enhancement is also not a serious issue of concern. I did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction either. The film's color-scheme favors a variety of warm and very natural looking yellows, greens, blues, and blacks. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues whatsoever. Aside from a few tiny flecks that I noticed early into the film, I also did not see any large scratches, cuts, stains, or debris to report in this review. All in all, this is a lovely first Blu-ray release from newcomers New Wave Films. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. However, the film is encoded in 1080/50i. Therefore, you will not be able to play it on Region-A PS3s and 98% of standard Region-A machines. The disc will be marked in our database as Region-B "locked", with a disclaimer).

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Thai LPCM 2.0. For the record, New Wave Films have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is not a film that has the potential to test the muscles of your audio system, but there are a number of ambient sounds in it that are incredibly important. Fortunately, the Thai DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has a strong dynamic amplitude that opens up the entire film very well. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. For the record, I did not detect any problematic pops, cracks, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. In Thai, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Interview with Apichatpong Weerasethakul - the Thai director discusses the message of his film, its success, and Thai culture. In English, not subtitled. (17 min, PAL).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In Thai, with imposed English subtitles. (27 min, 1080p).

• A Letter to Uncle Boonmee - a moody short film about the Thai director's desire discusses the message of his film, its success, and Thai culture. In Thai, with imposed English subtitles. (18 min, 1080/50i).

• Leaflet - containing the essay "The Memory of Nabua". Reprinted from the book Apichatpong Weerasethakul, edited by James Quandt and published by the Austrian Film Museum & Synema, Vienna, 2009.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The first Blu-ray release from British distributors New Wave Films is a good one. Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a mesmerizing, beautiful film. Watching it was a very, very special experience. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed is Region-Free. However, the main feature and the disc's menu are encoded in 1080/50i, which isn't supported by 98% of all Region-A Blu-ray players, including the PS3, as well North American TV sets. Keep that in mind if you reside in North America and wish to import the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.