Millennium Mambo (2001) Qian xi man po (original title)

Director:

Hsiao-hsien Hou

Writer:

T'ien-wen Chu

Release Date:

31 October 2001 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Aisareru isshun ga watashi no subete ni naru [Japan]

Plot:

Taipei. A voice off-camera looks back ten years to 2000, when Vicky was in an on-again off-again relationship with Hao-Hao...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Playing Video Game | Stripper | Alcoholism | Drugs

Awards:

6 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Qi Shu	...	Vicky
Jack Kao	...	Jack
Chun-hao Tuan	...	Hao-Hao
Yi-Hsuan Chen	...	Xuan
Jun Takeuchi	...	Jun
Doze Niu	...	Doze (as Chen-er Niu)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hui-ni Xu

Directed by
Hsiao-hsien Hou

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
T'ien-wen Chu

Produced by
T'ien-wen Chu	....	producer
Gilles Ciment	....	executive producer
Eric Heumann	....	producer
Wen-Ying Huang	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Yoshihiro Hanno
Giong Lim

Cinematography by
Ping Bin Lee

Film Editing by
Ching-Song Liao

Production Design by
Wen-Ying Huang

Art Direction by
James David Goldmark

Editorial Department
Gérard Estival	....	color timer

Production Companies

• 3H Productions
• Orly Films
• Paradis Films
• Sinomovie

Distributors

• Filmmuseum Distributie (2002) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Bitters End
• Océan Films
• Palm Pictures (2003) (USA) (subtitled)
• Solar Entertainment (2008) (Philippines) (all media)
• Vértigo Films (Spain)

Other Companies

• BarXing  thanks
• FamilyMart  thanks
• Houmeikan  thanks
• Koryokaku  thanks
• Nasu Kitaonsen  thanks
• P2  thanks
• Takimi  thanks
• Texound  thanks
• Whisky  thanks
• Yubari City Hall  thanks
• Yubari International Fantasic Film Festival  thanks

Also Known As:

"Qian xi man po" - Taiwan (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug content and some sexuality

Runtime:

119 min | 105 min (edited version)

Country:

Taiwan | France

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R | Australia:MA | New Zealand:R18

Filming Locations:

Taiwan

Company:

3H Productions

Trivia:

Many of the characters have the same names of the actors that played them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ore 5.35. tangenziale est (2008)

Soundtrack:

A pure person

Poetic film with uninteresting characters

I saw this movie at Vancouver International Film Festival. As typical of a HHH movie showing, some audiences walked out, which means it is slow-paced. Again with his customary long shots, all the acting and actions appear quite realistic. Jack Kao is convincing and cool as always. Shu Qi brings a credible portrayal to a not-so-interesting character. And the movie has a lyrical feel (especially the opening tracking shot and the snow scenes), accompanied nicely by the atmospheric theme music.

However, the two main characters just don't have appealing personalities. Like the characters in "South Goodbye South", both Vicky and Hao are restless, aimless & not very bright. (Lifeless) Rebels without a cause. I am wondering whether this is how Hou and Chu (the screenwriter) perceive the twentysomethings in Taiwan. Since Vicky is narrating from 10 years into the future, I do realize she will mature. Her transformation that starts here was not shown convincingly though. I also know that this is the first of a series of films on this decade, but it doesn't feel fully realized on its own.

I also have a slight problem with the narration preceding the real events. It makes the expected events boring, when the real events don't bring anything extra (e.g. contradiction, irony) to the narration.

Compared to "South Goodbye South", this one may not be as ambitious thematically. While "South Goodbye South" has a lot of boredom and dread (possibly intentionally so), I like the poetic, reflective and semi-nostalgic mood of "Mambo" much more.