A neon-drenched trip through nocturnal Taipei, Millennium Mambo stars Shu Qi as Vicky, a bar hostess losing interest in her dull, garrulous boyfriend, and attracted to the mysterious, sensual gangster Jack. Built as a flashback from the future, she finds herself afloat amidst a world of ecstatic nights out and an undertow of nagging emptiness, torn between the two men.
Like Edward Yang, director Hou Hsiao-Hsien emerged as one the major figures of the Taiwanese New Wave, and even collaborated with Yang as a screenwriter on Taipei Story (1985).
Misunderstood at the time by critics and audiences as a misstep in Hou’s otherwise excellent track record, it’s now reclaimed as a vital cog in his filmography. Hou’s meditative style is front-and-centre in Millennium Mambo, aided by the presence of the sublime cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bin, who at the time had just finished work on In the Mood for Love (2001).
Screening as part of Taiwan Films at HOME 2023, a season across the year. With thanks to the Taipei Representative Office in the UK and the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan (R.O.C.).
This screening is presented in collaboration with Cinema Rediscovered, a Watershed Project with support from BFI awarding funds from The National Lottery.
Event/ This screening will be introduced by Andy Willis, Senior Visiting Curator: Film at HOME.
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