An interesting movie to say the least. I enjoyed the bizarre ghosts, the lost son and his hairy counterparts with dilated red eyes. However, it gets too symbolic and loses me with its long gaps between dialogue and its reflective shots. Then you get into the mystical bestiality that breaks from the story line and it makes it tough to follow. Regardless, it does show some rare aspects of the Thai / Laotian culture and their religious beliefs that make them a unique people. I saw it since it was on the NYT 1000 movies list. SLC DVD.

If you're open to a film that's probably different from what you've seen before, I recommend it. It's one of the best I've ever seen (four times in total). It's a philosophical and artistic film that won't be to the general public's taste, it's true, but the way the director touches on complex themes, whether intimate or political, and impresses with very strong metaphors is incredible.

If you are looking for ways to torture those who have sinned against you, make them watch this movie without reacting or falling asleep. From start to finish, it left me with nothing but boredom and frustration. Not really sure how it won an award.

A good ending can't rescue us from the unbearable boredom of the preceding hour and forty minutes. Can't understand who on earth watches this and gives it five stars. The acclaim from critics is inexplicable to me. Had it on DVD for a long time and finally picked it up to watch. Wish I hadn't. Usually Palme D'Or winners are either great or awful and this one sits in the latter camp. Trust the audience reviews on RT over the critics on this one.

Just to be clear from the get-go, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives probably isn't for everyone. The premise is pretty straightforward – Uncle Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar) suffers from a kidney ailment and understands that his death is imminent. From there, things get weird. There is the spirit of his wife to contend with, as well as the fact that his long-missing son has returned to the fold as a hairy, fiery-eyed monkey-like man. And then there is the catfish fornicating with a princess, which really has to be seen to be believed. In typical Weerasethakul fashion, it is beautifully shot (much of it feels like an Ozu film) and is filled with interesting ideas and themes. There is also a lot that is left for the audience to interpret, which will undoubtedly leave much of the film's audience frustrated. If you like things tied up with a neat bow, avoid the whole Uncle Boonmee experience.

Ridiculously beautiful film.

Uncle Bone-me Who can recall his past lives.. also could not receive a single star rating. Why? Because there were far too many flaws to recount them all. Aside from its poor production value, lack of lighting and ridiculous costumes this film had nothing of value to offer . The insanity to justify relations with animals or familiar spirits was downright perverse. The storyline itself lacked rationality and basic common sense. The characters were dull, boring and emotionless . What a waste of time this production is cannot be expressed in a politically correct statement.Hence I refuse to acknowledge it.

At a superficial level, the movie may feel oddly paced and somewhat disjointed. But relax into its rhythm and it renders a haunting, mysterious, and moving reflection on mortality and transformation.

It's slow and plodding, but it's also strange and arty. I was really unsure about the first half of the film, but there's a scene in the middle, the waterfall scene, that completely changed my conception of it. I was hooked after that and gladly fell into its peculiar world. If you zone out on the story, some of the shots here are gorgeous.

I am really left wondering why this is so critically acclaimed. It feels like a bunch of random scenes that have no connection to each other at all. There are plenty of slow paced films that I adore, because the pace helps develop atmosphere and emotional build up, but this just felt unnecessarily slow, with some scenes that were not very engaging just dragging on. I was left at the end with nothing to really grasp onto. What was the point of it all? There are some little tidbits that could have been fleshed out into a realy story but.. no story appeared. I want 2 hours of my life back.

Haunting, dreamy and simply beautiful. The movie is extremely slow-paced and is shot on film, provoking resemblance with traditional Thai cinema. There's not much of a story, but slow speed and narration are making it just lovely to watch.

Maybe someday it will recall my memory.

Uncle Boonmee, a farmer and beekeeper, dying of kidney disease is visited by the ghost of his dead wife who leads him to a cave that is the passage between life and death. His dead son appears transformed into an ape-like creature with eyes like burning red coals. He is guided through past incarnations in a succession of phantasmagorical scenes. A princess enters a pool where she has sex with a catfish. Souls routinely transmigrate between humans and animals. The real world of Thai politics is alluded to but it is not fully specified and never interferes with the magical enigma of Boonmee's life and the film's languorous tropical surrealism. Trance-like, oblique and baffling: this is a film built on surprising, beautiful images rather than being constrained by a narrow linear construct. The visual impact and the sense of wonder that it generates is stunning. It is a film that I could watch again and again.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is probably the movie with the most optimistic and positive approach to death that I've ever seen. This also shows in the depiction of ghosts, as they are not something to be frightened of. If you combine all of that with some freaky stuff like the monkey ghost, or the catfish scene, you struck gold.

Fans of the director's work will find Uncle Boonmee to be another meditative, spiritual excursion while the unconverted will find it boring and meandering; I fall somewhere in the middle.

Dreadful. The pacing is slow the plot is pointless. It's the sort of thing Micahel Haneke would give his back teeth for. However, if you want to see a woman raped by a fish. Then this is the movie for you.

3.7/5 Theres clearly something fascinating about the culturally rich portrayal of spirits within this fantastic and imaginative tale.

A sick man contemplates his life, and his past. Visually, a lot of things happen. Something to do with a pack of Sasquatch with red, glowing eyes, a catfish that talks, a princess and a monk that wants to get out into the real world. It's an experience.

There's something a bit creepy at the heart of this strange Thai movie. Boonmee is a tamarind farmer who is suffering from kidney disease. He needs to have regular peritoneal dialysis and is helped by members of his family and a hired help from the neighbouring country of Laos. During his illness, he is visited by the ghosts of his dead wife and son. His son went missing in the forest near his home and has become a strange monkey-like creature. Boonmee also has visions of his own former lives. It is a strange, slow tale which touches on aspects of Asian philosophy and religion. I found the strange, dark monkey spirits that follow Boonmee through the forests to be slightly disturbing and unnerving.The film deals sensitively with themes of family, loss and regret and makes reference to violent incidents in Thai history. The movie has a dreamy and unrealistic feel which appealed to me and, based on the strengths of this movie, I'd be interested to see other works by the director Apitchatpong Weerasethakul.

One for undemanding arthouse luvvies who are easily excited by pesudo GCSE philosophy