Qian xi man po (2001)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Hsiao-hsien Hou

Writer:

T'ien-wen Chu (writer)

Release Date:

31 October 2001 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Aisareru isshun ga watashi no subete ni naru [Japan]

Plot:

Hong Kong. A voice off-camera looks back ten years to 2001, when Vicky was in an on-again off-again relationship with Hao-Hao...

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Snow | Bar | Drugs | Magic Show

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)

Directed by
Hsiao-hsien Hou

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

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
Pin Bing Lee

Film Editing by
Ching-Song Liao

Production Design by
Wen-Ying Huang

Art Direction by
James David Goldmark

Production Companies

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

Distributors

• Filmmuseum Distributie (2002) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Bitters End
• Océan Films
• Palm Pictures (2003) (USA) (subtitled)
• Vértigo Films (Spain)

Also Known As:

Millennium Mambo (France) (USA)
Cian si man po (Taiwan)

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:

Australia:MA | New Zealand:R18 | 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

Filming Locations:

Taiwan

Company:

3H Productions

Trivia:

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

Movie Connections:

References Città violenta (1970)

Soundtrack:

The techno wave is back

Vicky describes this period of time as being hypnotized or under a spell...HHH is successful in casting that spell on his audience.

The mood in which I left after viewing Millennium Mambo was a heavy sort of depression. I felt as if I had experienced, or re-experienced through memory, events causing one to give in to hopelessness; to accept being dominated by another. In retrospect, Vicky describes this period of time as being hypnotized or under a spell. Hou Hsiao-hsien is successful in casting that spell on his audience. Three aspects of the film lend to this success: the non-sequential unfolding of events, the use of long-takes from a more or less distant perspective, and the sound track. One of the first glimpses into Vicky¡¯s life with Ah Hao is at a time in their relationship when she has already given up. From here we are taken further back to various points in their relationship. There is no story per se, she is simply caught in this cycle of him finding her and her leaving, yet we do learn how she ended up in this cycle. There was a time when she resisted his advances, when she scolded his dangerous drug use, a time before she felt trapped. Knowing the end result of their relationship maintains a sense of hopelessness throughout the film. It is this constant sense of hopelessness, with no comic relief or side story to lift the weight of the mood, that causes the audience to experience the spell she is remembering. ¡°Cold, and colder, that was what I demanded of my camera¡± When I read this quote I immediately recalled the scene I mentioned above, when Vicky endures Ah Hao¡¯s advances, sexual or otherwise, annoyed, but in complete submission and as a matter of routine. The camera follows him to the floor, straining to see through the table obstructing the view but not getting any closer. While this may have been a mixture of ¡°pathos and eros¡± as Ah Hao smelled her body for the scent of other men it was indeed a disturbing violation that the camera forced the audience to participate in by calmly looking on. Other long-takes, showing two or more simultaneous independent actions, helped to invoke her sense of loneliness and the monotony of her life as the minutes dragged. Thirdly, the soundtrack, with its hypnotic beat and mix of high-pitched, eerie sounds, matched the repetition of events played out on the screen. He was the DJ, controlling the sounds added over the same, never-ending rhythm. This is what she lived with, day in and day out. Even as she is walking alone over the bridge, the same music is playing in her head.