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Directed by: Ming-liang Tsai Starring: Kang-sheng Lee, Kiyonobu Mitamura I would not recommend this film for anyone but the hardcore film enthusiast. I should also amend that statement to "hardcore minimalist film enthusiast" because this film takes its minimalism seriously to a dangerous degree; I consider myself a fan of minimalism and I found it hard to take (I did it, though). Tsai included around half a dozen lines of dialogue in the entire film (which is a manageable 82 minutes), but these lines were extremely poignant. We learn that the theatre is haunted and we can deduce that it is being closed due to disinterest from modern society. The film Dragon Inn is constantly playing in the background to juxtapose the unneeded old era with the new one. We see the sparse amount of people in the theatre all looking as if they are searching to make connections with someone else, but they can't do it. They can only connect with the movie. Later we find out in the few lines of dialogue that they are modern versions of the characters in the movie...or are they ghosts? The subtle (and fittingly and tragically unfruitful) love story between the projectionist and the gimp theatre owner is more touching upon reflection. However, all of my praise still does not forgive the painfully long scenes sometimes. I realize the importance of the empty auditorium shot, but 30 seconds would've been much more poignant than 2 minutes. 3.5/5 RATING: 3.5 PROS: Minimalism, subtle romance, mood, setting CONS: Pacing, static shots ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377556
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Feb 17, 2005 06:02
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 08:18 |
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Every slow, deliberate scene must be savored moment by excruciating moment. All the familiar Tsai elements are here: extreme isolation and alienation; the patient study of the most minute activities; awkward anonymous sexual encounters (and non-encounters); toilets; ultra-deadpan humor; and the oppressive uneasiness of water seeping into places we just don't like water to be. He sets a new personal best for paucity of dialogue, I think the entirely of it could fit on a couple of Post-It notes. I really wish I had caught this in the theater, where it would have had the most profound impact. Rating: 5.5 Bottom line: if you love Tsai, you'll love this. If you don't like Tsai, it won't change your mind.
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Feb 17, 2005 07:46
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I just finished watching this. Holy poo poo in a bucket! This is really incredible, perhaps a new high for Tsai the toilet guy, and as FFD said, a lot of his trademarks and obsessions are well at work here. The humor was brilliant, particularly the stuff with the Japanese guy who was always interrupted as he watched the movie and the stuff going on the bathrooms. I really liked the way the movie itself kind of winded down and ended as the movie showing in the theatre ended. It also started by showing the credits of both films, which I thought was pretty cool, and worked along similar lines. The theatre in this was gorgeous, if a bit larger than I'm used to seeing. I'm guessing it wasn't a normal chain, but rather a historic movie house or something. I really liked the line about "this theater is haunted", and in a way, all theatres are haunted by the ghosts of the films they show, for what is film if not a permenant freezing, and thereby death of a single moment? This was sort of the art film alternative to Kill Bill in terms of film nostalgia. drat, I'm so high on this right now. edit - I really want to see the movie that's featured in this, Dragon Inn. vertov fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Mar 22, 2005 |
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Mar 22, 2005 00:23
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^^^ I started watching Dragon Inn once (in anticipation of this movie) but it wasn't very good.
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Mar 22, 2005 01:08
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