Millennium Mambo (2001)

The ethereally beautiful Vicky recalls her romances with Hao Hao and Jack in the neon-lit clubs of Taipei.

Director:

Hsiao-Hsien Hou

Writer:

T'ien-wen Chu

Stars:

Qi Shu, Jack Kao, Chun-hao Tuan

6 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Qi Shu	...	Vicky
Jack Kao	...	Jack
Chun-hao Tuan	...	Hao-Hao
Jun Takeuchi	...	Jun
Ko Takeuchi	...	Ko
Doze Niu	...	Doze (as Chen-er Niu)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pauline Chan
Yi-Hsuan Chen	...	Xuan
Hui-ni Hsu	...	Cat
Rio Peng

Storyline

Taipei. A voice off-camera looks back ten years to 2000, when Vicky was in an on-again off-again relationship with Hao-Hao. She's young, lovely, and aimless. He's a slacker. Cigarettes and alcohol fuel her nights. We see bits of her life: when Hao-Hao steals his father's Rolex and the police detain them; when she gets a job as a club hostess, where she meets Jack, who becomes her patron and protector; when Hao-Hao comes to the club, insisting on talking to her; when she visits Yubari, Japan, for its film festival in the dead of winter; when Jack must go to Japan to straighten out trouble caused by one of his acolytes. Does Vicky have any expectations? Does time simply pass?

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Plot Keywords:

drug | police officer | taipei taiwan | film festival | theft | 

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Taglines:

Aisareru isshun ga watashi no subete ni naru [Japan]

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug content and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Océan Films (French)

Country:

Taiwan France

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

31 October 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

Millennium Mambo

Filming Locations:

Taiwan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,427, 9 January 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$14,809, 18 January 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

3H Productions, Orly Films, Paradis Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min 105 min (edited) 101 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2001 (#03)

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Alternate Versions

The version screened at the Cannes International Film Festival ran 119 minutes. Hsiao-Hsien Hou then re-cut the movie following its Cannes premiere and reduced the running time to 105 minutes. Most of the deleted footage came from the "Vicky in Japan" sequences and is included as an extra on most DVD releases.

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Connections

References Violent City (1970)

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Soundtracks

Medicine for healthy people
Written by Giong Lim

User Reviews

True cinema of time

To my surprise this movie hasn't been reviewed, and from what I gather from other external reviews either they think its empty and boring, or believe that Hou Hsiao-Hsien has gone wrong. Neither is true.

Hou has matured his style over the years, and instead of staying with the same historic movies he has moved to the present where he is needed the most. Finally we can see a depiction of the youth's life, which is common to the rest of the modern world, and we see the influence of the west, the decadence of a culture, the fast extinguishing life of a young woman. All seen through an objective heart, not judging or celebrating, but offering comprehension. Very often do we see movies made by the same young people or for commercial needs, when they are more interested in suprising you or make it a music video, and even when Hou uses music a lot he doesn't subordinate his camera or story to it.

Maybe it hasn't had a proper release, but anyone with a chance to see it shouldn't miss it. This is a serious and difficult film, and even if you enjoy it for the first time (which is not common), you'll have to repeat the viewings to understand that the most valuable thing in the movie is Time, and Hou is a filmmaker in the true sense, a sculptor in time as Tarkovsky would had called him.