Tian bian yi duo yun (2005)

Director:

Ming-liang Tsai

Writer:

Ming-liang Tsai (writer)

Release Date:

18 March 2005 (Taiwan)

Genre:

Musical | Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Hsiao-Kang, now working as an adult movie actor, meets Shiang-chyi once again. Meanwhile, the city of Taipei faces a water shortage that makes the sales of watermelons skyrocket.

Plot Keywords:

Watermelon | Water | Taipei | Water Shortage | Taiwan

Awards:

5 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Kang-sheng Lee	...	Hsiao-Kang
Shiang-chyi Chen	...	Shiang-chyi
Yi-Ching Lu	...	Mother
Kuei-Mei Yang	...	Taiwanese Porn Actress
Sumomo Yozakura	...	Japanese Porn Star
Huan-Wen Hsiao
Hui-Xun Lin
Kuo-Xuan Jao
Shu-Mei Hung
David Yang
Huan-Wen Wu
Yu-Wei Chang
Xun-You Chou
Lee-Hsing Huang
Tian-Fu Hsu

Also Known As:

La saveur de la pastèque (France)
The Wayward Cloud (International: English title)
Un nuage au bord du ciel (France)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:114 min | USA:112 min | Argentina:114 min

Country:

France | Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Italy:VM18 | Norway:18 | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) | South Korea:Limited (original rating) | France:-16 | UK:18 | Japan:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:18 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Taiwan:R-18

Filming Locations:

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Company:

Arena Films

Trivia:

Official selection from Taiwan for the 2005 Academy Awards.

Movie Connections:

References Papillon (1973)

Soundtrack:

Jing xin deng

Like all of Tsai's films, challenging, but this time in perhaps a different way

The Wayward Cloud features everything one expects from a Tsai Ming-Liang film, but it is also much more sexually explicit. The shot compositions, the use of space, and the choreography of the musical numbers are excellent. However, not everyone is going to enjoy a musical number featuring a woman and men dressed as the fluid that she had just received a moment before in the main narrative.

I understand the perspective of those who argue that Tsai doesn't have a clear point here, as he does in his other films. I would argue, though, that the film is more challenging because it does not offer the glimmer of hope found in Tsai's previous films (the woman pulled up in The Hole, May's dignity even as she cries at the end of Vive L'amour). The viewer has to piece together any hope from various parts of the film, as the shocking finale is not at all uplifting.

Tsai has some real insights into the human condition here. Xiao Kang's autoerotic sexuality has a lot to say about loneliness and insecurity. Also, the flirtation between Xiao Kang and Shiang-chyi is very charming, even sexy (I'm thinking especially of the way Xiao Kang leans against the elevator after their date.) I think this film's vision brings to light the way sexuality has become a commodity, and I find it tragic that Xiao Kang and Shiang-chyi find that there is great difficulty in overcoming that commodification.