Millennium Mambo

2001 Drama

Master filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien directs this look at life in modern Taipei, the first part of a planned series. The film opens with a vivacious lass named Vicky (Shu Qi) sauntering down a neon-lit tunnel as the voice-over describes how she is going to break up with her on and off boyfriend Hao Hao once she has spent the NT$500,000 in her bank account. A young free spirit and party girl, she makes a living for both her and Hao Hao (Tuan Chun-hao) by working at a hostess bar. Lazy, neurotic, and pathologically jealous, Hao Hao spends his time DJ-ing and smoking speed when he is not rifling through Vicky's belongings looking for some hint of infidelity. At work, she meets Jack (played by Hou regular Jack Kao), a businessman with strong links to the mafia who nonetheless is kind and nurturing to Vicky. They soon begin an ambiguous affair. This film was screened at the 2001 Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals. more..

Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien

Starring: Shu Qi, Jack Kao, Tuan Chun-hao, Jun Takeuchi, Niu Chen-er

 20 Reviews  6 Awards

Reviews

  • This is a great companion piece to Hou's masterly "Flowers of Shanghai" and fresh evidence of his status as Taiwan's greatest filmmaker.

    David Sterritt - Christian Science Monitor

    19 January 2013

  • Cause for celebration. It's not only a cracking good film, but it is the first by Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien to gain a national (though limited) release.

    - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • The film is dark, both literally and figuratively. Only at the very end do we get a glimpse of the sun.

    V.A. Musetto - New York Post

    19 January 2013

  • Millennium Mambo is a resolutely minor work, so enveloped in ennui that it never gets past the surface of things. But those surfaces are remarkable.

    Scott Tobias - The A.V. Club

    19 January 2013

  • If Millennium Mambo is the only chance to see Hou Hsaio-hsien's work at a movie theater, you'd better take it.

    Wesley Morris - The Boston Globe

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Du-Che Tu

    Cannes Film Festival (2001)

  • Hsiao-hsien Hou

    Chicago International Film Festival (2001)

  • Hsiao-hsien Hou

    European Film Awards (2001)

     

  • Hsiao-hsien Hou

    Ghent International Film Festival (2001)

  • Best Cinematography

    Golden Horse Film Festival (2001)

Lists

No lists

©2013 Movie Monitor