In taiwan a young man with a mysterious paralysis massages his neck with his mothers dildo, meanwhile the rain is flooding the island. The hole is the fourth feature film by malaysianborn taiwanese art house director tsai mingliang, following rebels of the neon god 1992, vive lamour 1994 and the river 1996. From rebels of the neon god 1992 and the river 1997. His films have won many awards including the 1994 golden lion aiqing wansui, 1994, the silver bear for tian bian yi duo.
Finding a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or view the mingliang tsaidirected movie via subscription can be a. Tsai mingliangs artistry is undeniable, but his film centring on an alcoholic father and his children lacks generosity. Tsai mingliang, 19971995 a deep exploration of the relationship between human psychology and illness, the river finds hsiaokang afflicted with a mysterious, intractable crick in his neck. Mingliang tsai celebrity profile check out the latest mingliang tsai photo gallery. Impeccable observational eyes on the human and spiritinaction, none next to tsai ming liangs caliber. In 1991, i was producing a tv show, a halfhour drama about a juniorhighschool student, and i was looking for a new face for the lead role. Taiwanese filmmaker tsai mingliang on vr work the deserted, showing in museums, and the film that fuelled his fish fantasy. Yearning to watch the river on your tv or mobile device at home. Tsai mingliang occupies a peculiar point in the bright and expanding constellation of internationally successful taiwanese filmmakers.
A description of the river will tell you about a female elevator operator, her pornographyselling lover, and her husband who goes to gay bathhouses. Born in kuching, malaysia, he graduated from the drama and cinema department of the chinese cultural university of taiwan and worked as a theatrical producer and tv director. Meanwhile, his mother embarks on an affair with a pornographer, his. Set in taipei like his other movies save for parts of what time is it there. This film will screen on tuesday, september 24, 20. In this festivalwinning drama from acclaimed auteur tsai minglian, a young man develops a mysterious pain in his neck after floating in a river for. Tsais second film, vive lamour aiqing wansui 1994, won the golden lion award for best film at the venice film end page 579 festival. Get your team aligned with all the tools you need on one secure, reliable video platform.
Notes on tsai mingliangs the river senses of cinema. The 3rd east asia film festival ireland returns to the ifi in dublin, april 11th14th and features films from varied geographical contexts across east and south east asia. Tsai mingliang was born in malaysia on october 27th 1957. Please wash your hands and practise social distancing.
Similar to my feelings with wayward cloud, my admiration for tsais undeniable skill and vision failed to translate into true engagement. Vive lamour ai qing wan sui, 1994 the river he liu, 1997 the hole dong, 1998 goodbye, dragon inn bu san, 2003 the wayward cloud tian bian yi duo yun, 2005 walker 2012 stray dogs jiao you, 20 journey to the west xi you, 2014. Lee kangsheng miao tien lu hsiaoling chen chaorong chen shiangchyi. Download citation a pain in the neck, a scene of incest, and other enigmas of an allegorical cinema. Persuaded to accompany his friend to a film set where she works as a production assistant, xiaokang is recruited by the director to play. Tsai mingliang born 1957 s a film director, winner of a number of prestigious awards of european film festivals, including golden lion of venice film festival. Lee kangsheng, tsai mingliang, anong houngheuangsy the two protagonists with the director middle. Ann hui and tsai mingliang on location for the river 1997.
The pain that courses through all of tsai mingliangs work becomes physical in the interesting, but ultimately underwhelming, the river. It is astonishing that even though these short films are, i assume, all supposed to be about the redrobed lee. Tsai mingliang, a filmmaker originally from malaysia, continued yangs scrutiny of contemporary urban mores, albeit with more emphasis on socially marginal characters, in films such as ching shao nien na cha 1993. With kangsheng lee, shiangchyi chen, norman atun, pearlly chua. Her unhappy scooterriding son runs into an actress he knew a few years earlier. While edward yangs expansive, multigenerational intimate epic of life in modern day taiwan has made him an arthouse star and hou hsiaohsiens contemplative and primarily historical films have won him a warm and secure place in almost every serious. Internal borders, or detranslating the construction of male homosexuality. Upgrade to a letterboxd pro account to add your favorite services to this listincluding any service and country pair listed on justwatchand to enable. Tsai mingliangs the hole and the imaging of okama in contemporary japan. Perhaps the most harrowing of tsai mingliangs meditations on urban isolation and communication breakdown, the river is a reliably demanding exponent of the taiwanese filmmakers cinema. Rebels of the neon god vive lamour the river the hole what time is it there. Xiaokangs mother is overcome by sexual longing for her son, sometimes making seemingly incestuous overtures. Qing shao nian nuo zha rebels of the neon god 1993 is a delicate and morbid dance between two main characters, an introverted psychotic virgin and a cynical decadent criminal. Tsai was born into an ethnic chinese family in malaysia in 1958 and moved to taiwan to attend university.
The director from taiwan could, in fact, be the second slowfilm director i have. A leading filmmaker of contemporary chineselanguage cinema, tsai ming liang has produced one of the most striking cinematic oeuvres of the past. After spontaneously agreeing to play a drowned corpse in a film, a young man lee kangsheng develops chronic, inexplicable neck pain. Tsai mingliangs the river, the taiwanese masters third feature, opens with a chance encounter between xiaokang lee kangsheng and an old friend chen shiangchyi, an unexpected meeting that sets this bleak and ultimately disturbing film on its course. The river by tsai mingliang a young man develops severe neck pain after swimming in a polluted river.
The strange, elliptical movies of taiwanese director tsai mingliang the hole, what time is it there. Yes, its pace is slow, and yes its depressing, but theres a lot of beauty here, and there are signs of what tsai mingliang would go onto accomplish in subsequent films. Along with hsiaohsien hou and edward yang, tsai mingliang is one of the most celebrated directors of second new wave taiwanese cinema. Tsai mingliang by hueiyin chen on april 6, 2015 twentythree years can turn a rebellious neon god into xuanzangfrom restless souls wandering around ximending the old city center of taipei in rebels of the neon god 92 to the pure spiritual idea embodied by the slowpaced movement of a redrobed buddhist monk in the walker. The one constant in tsais films is his lead actor, lee kang sheng, who embodies tsais ideas in his intensely physical performances. Seeing patterns in the films of tsai mingliang youtube. Jul 31, 2017 cinema by the river tsai mingliang retrospective micro film festivaltaipei, taiwan, 2012 printed display graphics stay safe and healthy. The festival is honoured to welcome auteur filmmaker tsai mingliang and his longterm collaborator, actor lee kangsheng.
His second feature film, vive lamour 1994, won the golden lion best picture at the 1994 venice film festival. Semiretired filmmaker tsai mingliang continues to impress with his walker series, of which the seventh instalment has popped up on youtube. I dont want to sleep alone tsai mingliang 2006 i discovered tsai mingliangs films early on in my research into slow cinema, or even well before i started my phd. The family, while committed to alleviating kangs pain, is as repressed and estranged as everkangs mother has a passionless affair with a pornographer, while his bathhouse cruising father. Rebels of the neon god the river vive lamour bluray remastered edition english subtitled taiwan version at with free international shipping. He graduated from the chinese cultural university of taiwan and has written and directed for stage and television. It is a strange and disturbing yet fully engrossing film. In the ruins of a house one afternoon, director tsai ming liang meets lee kang sheng, with whom he has shared his life for 20 years. In taiwan, xiaokang, a young man in his early 20s, lives with his parents in near silence. He has made ten internationally acclaimed feature films. A video essay about the search of slowness in the cinema of tsai mingliang.
Critics of tsais films usually emphasise what they interpret as tsais relentless pessimism about the state of human relations in the postmodern urban dystopias. After working in taiwanese theater and television and writing a number of screenplays in the hong kong film industry, tsai. Tsai ming liangs the river 1996 is his secondlast feature before the hole 1998. Taiwanese director mingliang tsai malaysia, 1957 specialized in a minimalist style of static camera, very long takes, laconic dialogue and no musical soundtrack. Sorry, we are unable to provide the full text but you may find it at the following locations. A leading filmmaker of contemporary chineselanguage cinema, tsai mingliang has produced one of the most striking cinematic oeuvres of the past. Museum of the moving image programs tsai mingliang. A day laborer is badly beaten, and a young man nurses him back to health. Tsai mingliang april 1026, 2015 born to a chinese family in malaysia, tsai mingliang came to taiwan during the flowering of the film industrys new wave and, standing on the shoulders of the groundbreaking directors edward yang and hou hsiaohsien. He has written and directed ten feature films and has also. The director discusses how his latest feature, a commission of the louvre museum, reflects his love of french cinema. His idiosyncratic oeuvre continues to enthrall audiences. Face is a 2009 taiwanesefrench film written and directed by tsai mingliang. His father is bedeviled by water first leaking into his bedroom and then flooding the apartment.
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