I've been watching a fair few art house movies recently, and I've found that they tend to fall into a love/hate camp; there's little middle ground in this genre. UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES is a meditative Thai exploration of Buddhism that wastes its early promise by falling into a pit of endless boredom.

The story begins promisingly enough, a tale of magic realism with some decidedly odd and unique offerings: the introduction of a primate from the jungle and an apparition at the dinner table set this up to be something really special. Unfortunately, after this point it feels like the writer gives up, and very little happens from this point in.

Viewers are treated to an interminable scene of characters wandering through a cave and a head-scratching climax which the writer doesn't bother attempting to explain. It's all very frustrating, with much head-scratching and dull interludes, long segments that tell obvious stories and a cast who give anything but impressive performances. The characters remain cold throughout, as indeed my heart remained cold to this film's intentions.

Uncle Boonmee is nearing the end of his life and has decided to spend his final days with loved ones at a remote farm near the Laotian border. Here he is joined by his late wife and the son who when missing years before and is no longer human. He then contemplates his life and whether his actions in previous lives have led to his current suffering.

This is a very different film. There isn't a plot to speak of; it is more a succession of scenes. It must be said that the setting is beautiful; a heavily forested area with an almost timeless feel to it. Instead of the usual background music we only have the natural sounds of the jungle. Unfortunately it is also glacially slow at times. I really wanted to enjoy this and early on as we were introduced to Boonmee and his family I thought I wasn't going to be disappointed; but later I found my mind wandering and was a little unsure about just what was happening. After watching I learnt that this was the final segment of an 'art project'; perhaps the problem was that I'd no knowledge of what was in the previous parts or perhaps it was just my lack of knowledge of Thai cinema outside the action genres. Overall I'm not sure I'd recommend this unless you really want to see something different.

"Loong Boonmee raleuk chat" ("Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" in English) is the first Apichatpong Weerasethakul movie that I've seen. I hesitate to call the movie bizarre what it depicts might be something more unique to Thai culture and I want to avoid insensitivity.

I understand that one of the movie's major themes is reincarnation. I can see that in the plot. I should note that the end of the DVD was damaged, so I didn't actually see the whole thing. What I did see came across as philosophical, with plenty of shots of rural Thailand. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a bad movie, just hard to follow. It certainly tests your attention span.

If you wanted any solid praise, I do enjoy getting focuses on cultures that we don't often get to see.