Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Palme d'Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is a unique and mesmerising piece of filmmaking, but it won't be to everyone's taste. As he charts the decline of ailing farmer Boonmee (Thanapat Saisaymar), Apichatpong's stunning shot composition and measured pacing draws the viewer into the richly mysterious world he has created. Extraordinary sights abound – including spirits, monkey ghosts and an amorous catfish – and the director shifts gears with incredible fluidity, unfolding a story that is alternately amusing, unsettling and finally very moving. With a slightly more linear narrative than his earlier bipartite films, this is perhaps Apichatpong's most satisfying and impressive work to date, but its ponderous nature and inexplicable happenings will undoubtedly alienate many viewers. That would be a terrible shame, because Uncle Boonmee is such a generous and imaginative work of art, and for those who surrender to its strange rhythms and wondrous imagery, it can be a truly intoxicating film experience. [Philip Concannon]