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A leading light of Thai cinema, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang works with Doyle and Miike, drinks with yakuza and his 'Last Life in the Universe' betrays a New York sensibility, says Roger Clarke
Despite rumours of a Thai 'new wave' and a proselytising Bangkok film festival of growing significance, there are currently only two young Thai directors with a strong international profile. One is Chicago-educated Apichatpong Weerasethakul, a Cannes darling who consistently wins prizes. The other is 42-year-old New York-educated Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, whose Mon-rak Transistor (2002) - an engaging luk thung melodrama bursting with local colour and the sentimental heart of a 19505 Hollywood musical - was a cult success with western audiences.
Ratanaruang's fourth feature Last Life in the Universe represents a radical change of direction. Though he wrote the script before making Mon-rak, it wasn't until the screenplay was reshaped by writer Prabda Yoon - who like Ratanaruang was educated in New York - that it attracted the attention of cinematographer Chris Doyle and Japanese megastar Asano Tadanobu. And as if to confirm Ratanaruang's new hip status, Miike Takashi volunteered to guest as a yakuza hood, with his...