Millennium Mambo

A

Directed by Hou Hsiao Hsien

Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao Hsien has since the early eighties built up an impressive catalogue of understated, beautiful films that have garnered him considerable and well deserved international praise. Many of Hsiao Hsien's films focus on disaffected, lonely youths and their efforts to come to grips with issues of emotional complexity that are often far beyond their understanding. In "Millennium Mambo," the film's heroine, Vicky, (played perfectly by Qi Shu) is in such a situation, living with an emotionally and physically abusive boyfriend who she nonetheless feels compelled to stay with. Vicky and her boyfriend have no job, no money, and spend their days sleeping or doing drugs and their nights partying in one of Taipei's many clubs It is in one of these clubs that she meets Jack, a Yakuza who seems to take a genuine, almost paternalistic interest in her.

In many ways "Millenium Mambo" goes where many, many films have gone before, insofar as the principal intrigue revolves around the question of if the abused, emotionally scarred heroine will finally see her man for what he truly is and break free from her persecution and begin to live life anew. Despite Hsou Hsiao Hsen's undeniable mastery as a director and storyteller, he unfortunately doesn't give us that much more insight into situations of domestic abuse than other lesser directors have in the past. What Hsiao Hsen does succeed in doing, however, is masterfully conveying Vicky's emotional state, contrasting moments of supreme happiness and bliss with others of dismal boredom or crushing anguish in a way that is as effective as it is emotionally resonent since it becomes painfully obvious that for Vicky happiness is something that is seemingly always just beyond her reach.

Although "Millenium Mambo" is far from being Hsou Hsiao Hsen's most accomplished work, it is without a doubt his most visually appealing film due to the brilliant work of cinematographer Pin Bing Lee who, along with Chris Doyle, is in my opinion one of the two best cinematographers working today. "Millennium Mambo" is Pin Bing Lee's canvas to show off his visual flair and he uses every frame to do so, bathing the screen in a kaleidescope of color and light which takes the film to a rareified level of artistry and romance that few films can match. Pin Bing Lee's work in "Millennium Mambo" thankfully did not go unnoticed as he was awarded the Technical Grand Prize at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.