| 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 | |
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| Salaam Bombay! | Enter the Void | American Heart | Stateside | The White Countess |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb Taiwan section |
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.