I am re-considering my Top Ten of 2003. Last Life in the Universe belongs way, way, way up near the top of the list. Unpredictable. Hilarious. Deliriously melancholy. Crowded with allusions to other films from all over the place. Hints of Jarmusch, Tarantino, Lynch. Two delightful lead performances. And the great Christopher Doyle (Hero) turns in some of the most excruciatingly beautiful cinematography I’ve ever seen. I’d like to live in a house full of freeze-frames from this film; it’d be like living in a fine art gallery. I have some gripes with the conclusion of the movie, when it becomes less poetic and more clever, but overall a deeply satisfying, surprising, and refreshing piece of work. I can’t wait to see what this director does next.
I’m glad you finally got a chance to see this. This has been one of my fave films for quite some time. I find it to be a very easy film to slip into. I often find myself slipping in the DVD to watch a favorite scene only to end up watching most of the movie. I agree that the film’s ending does get a little contrived, but I absolutely love the film’s very final scenes.
In addition to the cinematography, it’s worth noting the film’s quiet electronic score, which perfectly accentuates both the alienation of the characters and the poignancy of their relationship – and also adds to the film’s dreamlike state.
His next film, Invisible Waves, comes out in 2006. Some details can be found here.
You might also want to check out the director’s previous film, 6ixtynin9, which is a clever little psychological thriller. It’s quite a bit different than Last Life…, and not nearly as good, but you can definitely see the director’s emerging style.
Lovely snapshot.
What’s the provenance for the film? France? UK?
Also, you have a link … oh, never mind, I see the link to the next film.
I take that back… do you have a link for this film? It doesn’t appear Last Life is carried by Fortissimo.
Silus, Last Life… was distributed by Palm Pictures here in the U.S. Try this link.
Wow. That was tough.
That little bit of Cage’s hair in the cropped image made him look like Elijah Wood at first.