Just as Hideo Nakata and Takashi Shimizu are the dark princes of
J-horror, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang are the
kings of Thai art cinema. Apichatpong is best known for the widely-acclaimed
gay romance Tropical Malady (2004), while Pen-Ek found
international success with the gorgeously whimsical Last Life
in the Universe (2003).

Now Pen-Ek is back with another unique, genre-splicing arthouse
film called Invisible Waves. It stars handsome Japanese
megastar Asano Tadanobu as a chef who has an affair with his boss'
wife. When the boss discovers this, the wife is poisoned and Asano
is sent away to Phuket to be killed.

On his way there, Asano meets a number of strange characters, like
the flirtatious single mom with a baby, and the Hawaiian-shirted
karaoke-loving mystery man. The surprises do not stop there.

Oftentimes, one cannot help but wonder where this film is going.
It combines wry humor and philosophical musings with noir-ish story
elements and Christopher Doyle's surreal cinematography. Mainstream
viewers will find this film impossible to like, while viewers with
highly eclectic tastes might leave the cinema grinning like a monkey.