Vive L'Amour (1994)

Three lonely young denizens of Taipei unknowingly share an apartment used for sexual trysts.

Director:

Ming-liang Tsai

Writers:

Ming-liang Tsai, Yi-chun Tsai

Stars:

Chao-jung Chen, Kang-sheng Lee, Kuei-Mei Yang

10 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Chao-jung Chen	...	Ah-jung
Kang-sheng Lee	...	Hsiao-kang
Kuei-Mei Yang	...	May Lin

Storyline

The film focuses on three city folks who unknowingly share the same apartment: Mei, a real estate agent who uses it for her sexual affairs; Ah-jung, her current lover; and Hsiao-ang, who's stolen the key and uses the apartment as a retreat.

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | real estate agent | wrist slitting | sexual identity | sexual confusion | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: New Boundaries: World Cinema in Africa, Asia & Latin America (2011)

User Reviews

If you enjoy watching paint dry, this is the film for you

I suppose it's nice and trendy to see wonderful things in the absolute emptiness of a film like this. With the sometimes pointless excesses of many Hollywood films, we can relax and enjoy a scene devoid of explosions, foul language, and corny one-liners. Minimalism has its place, and can be very effective when employed properly. However, this film is not one of those cases.

Take the long scenes with no dialogue and dreary, sparse scenery. I'm sure that they must hold some great meaning and insight, because the implied message in shrouded in bafflement. The acting is poor... bland and pedestrian... and features one of the worst crying scenes in history (at the end of the film, if you can sit through it to the end). The scenery is drab, and the ridiculously long ending sequence of the girl walking through the barren park is as pleasurable as having a tooth pulled. I would call this anticlimatic, but as the film didn't build to any sort of climax whatsoever... not even in the "erotic" scenes... it would be untrue. I'm sure that there was a script employed during the filming, but with the amount of dialogue, I think it might have been written on a cocktail napkin. Basically, this film offers nothing to interest or amaze... no great story, no stunning insights, no visual drama, no excitement. Apart from two or three amusing moments, this film is a waste of two hours. A tragically boring and dreary film.

Details

Country:

Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

22 July 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vive L'Amour

Filming Locations:

Daan Forest Park, Taipei, Taiwan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1