Headshot

Thailand filmmaker Pen-ek Ratanaruang—who made his reputation with a series of stylish, violent, and oddly contemplative crime thrillers—plays to his strengths with this self-styled "Buddhist film noir." Interweaving crime movie conventions with philosophical musings ("Justice does not exist in nature," ponders our tormented hero), Headshot tells a twisty, puzzling tale about Tul (Nopachai Jayanama), a contract killer with a complicated backstory and a literally unique perspective. Thanks to a bullet in the head, Tul sees everything upside down, putting him at a real disadvantage during a getaway but not affecting the accuracy of his aim. The film shifts back and forth between flashbacks and enigmatic visions, often shuffled out of chronological order in order to keep the viewer guessing as to what is really happening to enigmatic and oddly passive assassin Tul. Ultimately, Headshot can be taken as either a very violent Buddhist lesson, or an almost too-clever crime conspiracy of assassins and patsies—with numerous detours to contemplate what it all means, both literally and spiritually. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)