Customer Reviews

Millennium Mambo

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

i think this is one of the most beautiful films i've ever seen. i was absolutely hypnotized by shu qi's performance, her authenticity, her emotion, etc. the scenes have this "real-time" cadence, lending the story yet more authenticity by making the viewer feel as if they are witnessing a 'real' argument, real sex, real healing. each scene seems to pull some of its energy or emotion out of the coloring and lighting of the setting...very deliberate, very beautiful. i don't claim to be a film expert...but i loved what i saw.

Directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsien, Millenium Mambo is a compelling portrait of anomie in modern day Taiwan. The lead female, Vicky, played by actress Shu Qi, is seen endlessly lighting cigarettes which quickly comes to represent her lack of direction, her uncertainty about her life. She basically does not know what to do so to substitute something halfway "concrete" for this lack of direction, she lights a cigarette.

In addition, as is true for Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Barren Illusion (not available domestically on VHS or DVD), the director peppers the film with references to Western culture that have pervaded the culture of Taiwan; the implication is that this counts in large part for Vicky's alienation and, by extension, that of her friends who are also bar girls and also that of her boyfriend, Hao Hao.

Hsien uses time splicing to tell his story and this is a subtle use indeed. We see a back and forth of events, some of which Vicky narrates in voiceover, some of which she does not. She goes to Japan to find her new boyfriend Jack after she breaks up with Hao Hao; Jack is a gangster, another oblique reference to Western culture that has corrupted, or at least changed Taiwanese culture. But she also goes there to find two brothers, whose names escape me at the moment, who are half Japanese and half Taiwanese. While there, the camera languidly passes by a long series of posters illlustrating movies both Western and Asian alike. This is Hsien's way, no doubt, of indicating the context of this film itself; it is, after all, only a movie. Or maybe it is, more than anything else, a movie. Who can tell?

Hsien is known for his seemingly ambling, plotless style, and this film is no exception. But here he subtly manages to get Vicky's psyche to burrow under our skins, and the effect is, as many have said, hypnotic. This is as well underscored by the ceaseless techno music, an aspect of the film about which Hsien comments in the interesting interview that comprises one of the special features on the disk.

Hsien's style lends itself, more than anything else, to an intensely subjective view of what he is trying to accomplish with his film(s). For me, this was far more compelling than Goodbye South, Goodbye, a film in which the actor who plays Jack in Millenium Mambo, Jack Kao, also plays a gangster. But here in Millenium Mambo, Hsien wisely focuses instead on a young woman whose emotional isolation, whose anomie, resonates far more fully and deeply throughout the film than was true in Goodbye, South, Goodbye.

There is a gradual momentum that build in Millenium Mambo and it is, I feel, truly intriguing.

Highly recommended.

"Millennium Mambo", directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, is not a movie for everyone. The reason why I say that is pretty simple, as not much happens, and the story is somehow slow, unless you get caught up in what is happening to the main character. I did, and that is the reason why I enjoyed this dvd...

The main character of this film is Vicky (Shu Qi), and "Millennium Mambo" is just a way to allow her to tell her story, in her words, from a very subjective point of view. Vicky is an extremely beautiful young woman that lives in Taiwan and doesn't have a clue regarding what to do with her life. But is that her fault, or is that loss of direction something that has to do with the spirit of our time? And why does she make us care?

I should point out that this movie doesn't end neatly, so those who only like that kind of ending won't find it here. "Millennium Mambo" is open-ended, in more or less the same way that Vicky's own story is in the process of changing and doesn't have real fixed limits. I find that fitting, at least for this movie, and I think that you will deem it appropriate too. Recommended!

- Belen Alcat, June 2007 -

PS: I give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5 :)

Films like Millennium Mambo are a very rare, but very special breed indeed . I've seen so so many mediocre to poor films lately. Literally dozens of them. And after you watch so many bad films, you say to yourself "Maybe I just don't have the same passion for movies as I once used to."

And then one day, unexpectedly, a movie like Millennium Mambo appears. And it restores your faith in movies.


After reading many reviews and other peoples opinions of this film, I realized that it takes a special type of person, to appreciate a special type of film. Millennium Mambo is for those who know.

i guess that pretty much sums it up... its a really beautiful film. quite slow pace, so as with hou's other films, many might find it boring. but if you give it a chance it rewards you no end. every scene is shot beautifully, and with the narrative of the main character, it feels dreamy, and at the same time, a little bit like a documentary of nightlife in taipei. the music is perfect for the film, again, dreamy and beautiful. lost in translation is my favourite film of all time, so if you really like that, then check out this movie, its got the same dreamy, slow, otherworldly feel to it. and to top it off, the film ends with one of the most beautiful snow scenes i have seen in cinema.

If you enjoy Taipei movies here is one for you! I greatly enjoyed this movie. The atmosphere of the scenes makes me feel like I'm in interesting places. Some casual, some cozy, some charged with tension and for sure exotic. Shu Qi makes the movie worth a watch indeed. She is quite good in this one. The other performers do a splendid job too. I've long been interested in Taiwan so I'm given to favoring such movies. Having watched many Asian movies I can connect to the story. I rented this video. I may decide to buy a copy for myself. Mabey I'll buy a second copy to send to a friend. Best enjoyed while eating instant noodles with chopsticks! Smile!

Shu Qi looks dear and is fortunately in nearly every scene. I would say that this character must have been written for her. There are many girls attractive and desirable but with no power in the economic tiger that is Taiwan. I sense no culture where girls carry a sense of their innate worth. Anywhere else, she would have developed into a chic but colder type but on Taiwan island, she is sweet and somehow dowdy in cheapened trendy attire despite her gamine skeleton. It's not that women in Taiwan are weak but they seem to be undervalued. That's the only reason I can see for the posturing and presumptuousness of her immature BF. Her tolerance and accommodation have nothing to do with any superiority of the male or the benefits of his chivalry and protection. I found myself boggled by the behavior of the deadweight in this movie and the defeated corrupted version of machismo of his competitor. Kick them to the curb and get a job at a Club Med.

This world seems shallow in a cultural way that predates consumerism. It's like something got erased perhaps by choice and this creeping disaster is the result. These small problems created for themselves ufortunately equal heart break but there's no way these people can explain that about themselves because they don't believe in their own honesty. They don't have the ability to communicate sincerity to themselves nevermind seek help outside of their situation. These people are in trouble but they can't say so. It's not just the Taiwanese accent but the Taiwanese phrasing and vocabulary choices that seems to be about affectation but also denial of any meaning. There's no truth telling in the words used for injury. All these arguments and struggles that aren't really expressing the problem. I think this is big trouble if this is not uncommon.

This movie gave me the shivers several times.

In the neon-saturated city of Taipei lives a young woman named Vicky. She is living with her boyfriend Hao, but he isn't working now and moreover, is a very jealous guy. Vicky is also attracted to Jack, a man living in underworld and running a night club.

Acclaimed Taiwanese director Hsiao-hsien Hou's film is all about Vicky played by Qi Shu, but "Millennium Mambo" is nothing like eventful "Transporter." In short, nothing "big" happens here. So if you happen to read Vicky's story and expect something dramatic and romantic in "Millennium Mambo," probably you will be disappointed.

Not that the film is total failure. On the contrary, this quiet film, which employs such techniques as long, continuous shots or non-linear timeline, is what exactly we should expect from the director of "A City of Sadness." The difference is "Millennium Mambo" does not deal with Taiwanese history, but modern life of young people of the land represented by Vicky. Whereas in "A City of Sadness" one historical incident plays a key role, in "Mambo" the life of Vicky has nothing to say, or suggest, except ... Vicky, who is not particularly interesting presence per se as she embodies what the young generation of Taiwan is all about, according to the director.

Some would think naturally that the film is tedious and boring. After all, the director is not interested in Vicky's story itself. Curiously Vicky herself tells the story of herself, looking back from ten years after the events described in the film. The strange voiceover makes Vicky all the more detached from us, making herself part of the scenes of everyday life in Taipei.

And probably this is what Hsiao-hsien Hou intended. He is always good at capturing the atmosphere, or air of the places where the characters are living, and in this he does not disappoint. He also successfully makes a great contrast between the stifling rooms in Taipei and the chilling, snowy landscapes in Yubari, Japan, where Vicky looks most cheerful and lively. (This film was really shot during the film festival in Yubari City, in February, 2001, and the old lady working at the Japanese bar was really running the place.)

For all these merits, I couldn't bring myself to like this film because, in spite of the visually stunning cinematography, it is hard to keep watching the life of someone depicted in an emotionally detached fashion. Hsiao-hsien Hou's touch is not cold, rather compassionate in his own way when showing Vicky and Hao, but once we realize what he is trying to, we are to keep watching him making the same point over and over again for the rest of film.

I have to say when I bought this film I was very excited for Shu Qi's performance because I absolutly fell in love with her movie THREE TIMES. I figured same director same actor it would be a knock out. But I was waiting for something to happen to make all of the hype true but it never came. Which is sad. Anyway, the attempt at filming in a club went horribly wrong, the scenes were difficult to decipher the images because it was all unfocused in one color.. I was hoping they would go more indepth with the relationships that Shu Qi had but it barely touched on them. It was just odd scenes strung together (which is okay) but if they don't have a basis to them, there's no point. Plus her second relationship just comes out of nowhere. This small idea of a man who takes care of her; but there is hardly any scenes with him to make it believable. Honestly, the best part of the film is the ending (not because its the end)but, because it basically left Shu Qi to her own vices and when that happens she can pull a viewer in and never let them go.

Personally, there wasn't enough in this film to make it a smash hit. If you are going to buy this film I highly recommend you do your research and make sure the actual plot is enough to tempt you. I bought it because of Shu Qi, if that's your reasoning for buying this film I'd opt for something else.

Millennium Mambo (Hsiao-Hsien Hou, 2001)

I've been trying to write this review for a month, forcing myself to mull this movie over in my head, because everyone and their mothers raves about the films of Hsiao-Hsien Hou. Now, I'm more than willing to admit that I'm just thick most of the time, but I'm not entirely sure that's the case here. Maybe I don't get it because there's just nothing to get.

Millennium Mambo is a slice-of-life film about a bunch of youth. Sex, drugs, and what in slightly earlier days would be rock and roll (but instead, is the pale imitation known as techno). The cast is ensemble, though Vicky (Qi Shu of Sex and Zen II and The Transporter, among many others) is as close to a central character as we've got. She's got a boyfriend who DJs and a pretty nasty drug habit, and much of the film is spent following her around to various clubs and the like. She eventually meets gangster Jack (Jack Gao), who promises her a way out of the endless wheel in which she's trapped, but does she have the courage to take it? And even if she does, is it truly a way to a better life?

There is some good acting to be had here, and there's no doubt Hou is a gifted director. I read a comment on IMDB's message board for the movie that rings true (and reminds me of comments I've read about a number of other movies of this stripe I just didn't get, most recently Spun): "If you have lived the 'clubbing life' anywhere in the world, you would maybe better understand the movie." I've never seen the appeal of the clubbing life, even as a casual clubgoer. Millennium Mambo hasn't changed my mind, either to give it more substance or to give it less (which would certainly be another valid interpretation; I might find it more attractive were is sufficiently soul-destroying). Another comment in that same thread: "You either watch the film and "live" it and relate to it, or it is a distant sequence of images flashing on the screen. As the latter the film fails miserably. As the former, it is one of the best movies I have ever seen." Obviously, for the person being quoted, the film was the former. As I found no way to relate to it, I found it the latter, and his succinct, clear analysis is spot on. * ½