MILLENNIUM MAMBO
Film - Spotlight Filmfest 2023

MILLENNIUM MAMBO

Directed by Hsiao-Hsien Hou

Info

Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou
Section: Spotlight
Country: Taiwan
Year: 2001
OT: QIĀNXĪ MÀNBŌ
Language: Mandarin
Version: Original version with English subtitles
Cast: Shu Qi, Jack Kao, Chun-hao Tuan, Yi-Hsuan Chen
18+ (no age rating)

Logline

A classic of Taiwanese cinema whose sound and images have brilliantly been restored in 4K.

Vicky is a bar hostess. She's been living with her boyfriend, quick-tempered Hao-Hao, for some time, but his manic jealousy has increasingly been getting on her nerves. He constantly checks up on her, even sniffing her when she comes home from work. Unable to take this anymore, she leaves him and moves in with Jack, a local gangster. As the world rings in a new millennium, she must decide whether to go back to Hao-Hao or make a fresh start with Jack.

Meet the director

Hsiao-Hsien Hou

Hou Hsiao Hsien was born in China in 1947. The following year, his family moved to Taiwan, where he spent his childhood. He studied directing at the National Taiwan Academy of Arts and was an assistant director to Li Hsing and Lai Cheng-Ying. His directing soon attracted some attention. A CITY OF SADNESS earned a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1989, while THE PUPPETMASTER received the Jury Prize at Cannes in 1993. His later films, including MILLENNIUM MAMBO (2001), were also screened at Cannes. As a producer, Hou was responsible for such classics as Edward Yang's TAIPEI STORY (1985) and Zhang Yimou's RAISE THE RED LANTERN (1991).

Credits

Screenplay: Chu T’ien-wen
Director of Photography: Mark Lee Ping Bin
Film Editor: Ching-Song Liao
Composer: Yoshihiro Hanno, Giong Lim
Producer: Chu T’ien-wen