A young man develops severe neck pain after swimming in a polluted river; his dysfunctional parents are unable to provide any relief for him or themselves.
Director:
Ming-liang Tsai
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Title: He liu (1997)
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6 wins & 7 nominations.
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
 |
Tien Miao | ... | Father |
| Kang-sheng Lee | ... | Hsiao-Kang | |
| Yi-Ching Lu | ... | Mother (as Hsiao-Ling Lu) | |
| Ann Hui | ... | Director (as Anne Hui) | |
| Shiang-chyi Chen | ... | Girl | |
| Chao-jung Chen | ... | Anonymous Man | |
|
|
Shiao-Lin Lu | ... | Mother's lover (as Long Chang) |
| Kuei-Mei Yang | ... | Girl in Hotel | |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
In Taiwan, Xiao-kang, a young man in his early 20s, lives with his parents in near silence. He is plagued by severe neck pain. His father is bedeviled by water first leaking into his bedroom and then flooding the apartment; rain is incessant. Xiao-kang's mother is overcome by sexual longing for her son, sometimes making seemingly incestuous overtures. They try virtually every intervention for Xiao-kang's neck: Western medicine, a chiropractor, acupuncture, an herbal doctor, and a faith healer, Master Liu. Are the family's silent dynamics and Xiao-kang's neck pain connected? And what about the body floating in the Tamsui River: is everything dead? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
Plot Keywords:
neck pain | acupuncture | chiropractor | department store | sense of touch |Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
TaiwanLanguage:
MandarinRelease Date:
7 August 1997 (Taiwan) See more »Also Known As:
The River See more »Filming Locations:
Taipei City, TaiwanCompany Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby SRColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
[Hsiao-kang turns off the lights]
Girl: The curtains, too.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The director of the movie in which Xiao-Keng floats in the river is played by real-life Hong Kong director Ann Hui. See more »Quotes
Girl: Hsiao-kang, I want to go pee. Could you turn off the lights?[Hsiao-kang turns off the lights]
Girl: The curtains, too.
See more »
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I have seen three of his movies, and i always got out of the theatre not knowing what to think of it. It is always well films and directed, but the themes he treats are so peculiar.. Once again, the plot is here that of a strange illness, a heavy neckache, that will start everything else. It seems that the boy got it from a polluted river where he shot a scene for a film, but who knows ? it may as well have no origin. But this will lead us into the life of a family, where communication isn't the best. Uncommunicability, strange illness and behavior, leaking roofs, seem to be Ming-liang's obsessions.