HONG KONG — T he Thai film "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" was named best picture at the fifth Asian Film Awards on Monday in a ceremony overshadowed by the absence of Japanese filmmakers who stayed home in the wake of the deadly earthquake and tsunami of March 11.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's mystical drama follows a dying man from Thailand's rural northeast who explores his past and the idea of reincarnation in his final days. Apichatpong said it was especially sweet to win in his home region, a year after he took the top Palme d'Or award at France's Cannes Film Festival.

The director, whose earlier credits include "Tropical Malady" and "Syndromes and a Century," said the critical acclaim his contemplative work received signaled displeasure with the growing influence of western commercial cinema.