I'll introduce my favorite directors time to time.
蔡 明亮 |
Go to this page to see about his latest film "What Time is it There?", translated by excite Japan (sorry, they're vary weired English, though)
彼の最新作品「ふたつの時、ふたりの時間」については、こちらから。
Everyone has his / her own definition of his / her favorite film. For me, what is the measure of my favorite is "How much the film tells something with images". I'm not saying that I'm a fan of those "visually genius" directors such as Spike Jones or Michael Bay, although I'm a huge fan of Buz Lahman, who did an amazing visual work for "Moulin Rouge".
The image also got to have something to say, which is not a message. Something you want to say but cannot be a word. If you can say that in words, you can just write a book, right?
My three favorite films of all time, "The Great Dictator", "Fantasia" and "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" got amazing image / performances, which do not depend on lines / narrations and saying so much things, at least… to me.
Then, I've just found another my favorite! Those films by Tsai Ming-Liang (TML) have such few lines and sometimes you don't even hear any music. You understand almost all stories by images, which have no CG, no colorful set design, and no dazzling editing (many of scenes are one scene with one shot). I have to tell you that I'm not the person who can stand those Hsiao-hsien Hou’s loooong one shot films such as "Good bye South, Good bye" or "Flowers of Shanghai" (though I'm a huge fan of "The City of Sadness" and "The Time to Die, The Time to Live").
However, with those amazingly calculated composing and the directions to the actors, I've never got bored to watching any of TML films. They also got great senses with humor, rhythm, and perfect timings.
I can easily write a book about TML, so let me give you a special "TML check list", which I just made up. As follows, his films have certain elements you almost always see. In a bad way, you can say it's a mannerism, but on the other hand, his filmmaking clearly has an author theory.
1) "Solidarity of people in a big city", "Solidarity of a man and a woman", and "Solidarity of a family, which separated each other".
And relatively, "Anonymousness", etc
2) "Strange disease" and "Insanity"
3) "Allegoristic metaphor", Cross over of "The Real World" and "Non-Real World"
4) "Religion" and "The traditional Taiwanese Culture".
5) "Water", "Humid", "Cats & Dogs", "Flood" and "Deserted Place", "The End of the World"
6) "Platonic", "Sex without Love" and "Indications of eroticism"
7) "Lovable humors" and "Perfect timings"
8) "Few lines with actors" and "Looooooong shot in a scene"
9) "Unique and perfect compositions" and "Dark lighting"
10) "No music" or "Glittered musical scenes"
11) "Some sense with gay culture" and "Camp culture"
12) "Cigarette", "James Dean" and "Motorcycle"
13) "Using the same actors over and over"
Especially, Kang-Sheng Lee has been the lead of all TML films.
14) "No story" and " No clear ending "
Hope and hopelessness crosses over at the end.
15) "Many Eating Scenes", which is the same as the other Chinese films. Do not watch his films, when you’re hungry.
Now… I’ll write about his films one by each.
Though this is his first feature, his style’s been pretty much established already. See the TML check list above, it clears all except #2.
Its’ just like “Rocco and His Brothers” in Taiwan. Ching (Chao-Jung Chen) is such a girl killer but not a gigolo. Lee (Kang-Sheng Lee) looks perfect for that role and is already showing some clue to be the “James Dean in Taiwan”. No wonder TML dragged him into the film industry, when he saw Lee in a game center.
Instead of Kuei-Mei Yang, who eventually becomes the heroin of TML films, Yu-Wen Wang showed the complication of a young girl with notable charm (BTW, Yang and Wang played sisters in “Eat Drink Man Woman”).
It has such a memorable theme music, which gave me the strongest impression from the first time I saw this film about 5 or 6 years ago. I bet so many people who’ve seen this film can remember this music more than the detail of the story.
TML won the Gold Prize at Venice Film Festival with this film, which is only his second.
This film also clears all TML check points but #2. It is about a woman, who is a real estate agent and two guys who happen to live in an unsold mansion, which she is trying to sell.
It has a famous ending scene, which some people like and some other do not. Although this is my favorite film of all TML’s, I wasn’t really impressed by that scene to tell the truth.
This film has no music and has less than 100 lines in the whole two hours movie, and I think the length of the characters talking (even all together) is less than 20 minutes. Nevertheless, that is the reason why I love this film so much.
I found that the relationship between the two guys are pretty similar to that of relationship between two women in ”The Unbearable Lightness of Being”. The characters are totally opposite and they’re in between an opposite of sex. At the same time, they seem to have some kind of affection each other.
And those sex scenes in both films are so erotic and more likely realistic. Both films have scenes, which two strangers seduce each other without any words. I don’t know any other filmmakers, who can realistically depict sex in non-cinematic way.
The heroine (doesn’t even have a name!), does never do anything unique. We basically keep watching her daily routine such as taking a bath, packing her face, and eating something… However, she definitely becomes a three dimensioned character with those scenes. So are other characters.
This film totally shows a possibility of what a film can tell in a very strange but a very powerful way.
This is the darkest and most sensational story of all his films (BTW, this clears all TML check points above).
This is not a quite sequel of “Revels of the Neon God”, but in many senses, it somehow connected to that film. The biggest part is the relationship between Xiao-kang and the speechless father (Tien Miao). The father definitely cares about his son but never shows his love in an obvious way. In this film, the relationship of them turns into a crucial result, but their story keeps going on as the globe turns. That’s the way, the director sees the world, people, and lives.
You can see the excellent humor and eroticism, which you see in his other films. Despite the absence of the heroine, Kuei-Mei Yang (although you see her as a cameo), you still see some sex wondered women such as the ex-girlfriend (Shiang-chyi Chen) and his mother.
This Berlin winning film just opened in New York / Los Angeles last week. Wonder how American people will receive this depressing (but funny) urban tale, which was well accepted in Japan a couple of years ago.
This is the cutest and easiest one to begin with, if you’re not familiar at TML films yet. This has all elements of TML (yes, it clears all the check points above), but at the same time, I have to say, this is very different from his previous films.
This is a ”Dancer in the Dark” in the decadent Taiwan, although TML made this film a couple of years prior to DID. Those musical scenes are totally campy, grittily, and so enjoyable. I cannot believe she is the same actress in both the depressing scenes and the kinky musical scenes!
The decadent world is full of flood and gavages (which is so disgusting). And same as in the other TML films, the hero and the heroine do nothing but eating or lying down on the bed. There is just a hole between their apartment, which sometimes becomes bigger and smaller but is nothing until the end…
There is a miracle happens in the end of this story, which is, in a way, unusual for his filmmaking. But the way, he shows the miracle is just surprising and amazing. Of course, there is no line, no explanation, or even no music but just two of them. That is why I have to say TML is a genius showing a miracle with no special effect. I don’t want to say what happens, so you just have to see the film!!!
Anyway, 3 years after “The Hole” won the critic award at Cannes, his latest film, “What Time is it Now?” went back to Cannes this year. I cannot wait to see it here in New York~~~~~!!!
---------------------------
Back to Film Index