CRITIC'S PICK UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES Even before the first image, the sound of a forest resting at night — chirping, the rustling of branches and a barely perceptible wind — confirms we're firmly in Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul's Thailand. Kubrick needed the whole universe to symbolically depict birth and resurrection; for his tale of a dying man's last days, all Joe needs is some natural lighting, trees and a cave. The inexplicable is regular terrain for him, his grandiosity tempered by a gentle restraint that's hypnotic rather than cloyingly twee. Don't worry about why men are showing up reborn as monkeys or catfish are ... well, you'll see. It all will make intuitive sense. Just as his protagonists have many lives, Joe, too, seems to be saying goodbye and gearing up for another reincarnation. In the meantime, this is his most linear, incident-filled work yet, making a perfect introduction for beginners. (VR) (Nov. 6, 8:45 p.m., Chinese)
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