UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES World Cinema

Opening in the rustle of a moonlit forest and closing in the hum of a neon-lit hotel room, the long-anticipated fifth feature from Thailand’s laureate of tropical animism unfurls in an intoxicating hush. Uncle Boonmee’s body is quietly dying, though his spirits remain high. With his sister-in-law and nephew in tow, he retreats to the country estate where he grows tamarinds and harvests sweet-and-sour honey. One evening as they dine on his patio, an island of light in the buzzing jungle darkness, they’re joined by two unexpected guests: the ghost of Boonmee’s dead wife and the couple’s long-lost son, since transformed into a woolly Yeti with gleaming eyes . From there, writer/director Apichatpong Weerasethakul sets off on an ethereal, free-floating fantasy through the endless forest and Boonmee’s soul. The first Thai film awarded the Palme d’Or, UNCLE BOONMEE is a tour de force of pungent, low-light cinematography, bolstered by a deadpan composure, faintly murmured pathos and a limitless sense of wonder.