The Wayward Cloud (Taiwanese movie)

For those of you looking for a break from the over produced, stupidly written, banal, unimanginative crap coming from Hollywood these days check out “The Wayward Cloud” available as a new release at Blockbusters now. It may not be any good, but it is Taiwanese, and it has the most mind blowing ending ever to be captured on celluloid!

I hardly think having sex with a woman who is unconscious because it was an “opportunity” was ripe for the picking makes a good ending. No, what this movie does, is reduce women’s ablity to be owners of their sexuality in society and sends a dangerous message.

You got that right. Waste of NT$70.

Relax, Namahottie. It’s a Taiwanese art film, ergo, no one has seen it, and no one will see it. Not even full-on fellatio can defy this fundamental principle.

Like you’re gonna see full-on anything in Taiwan…

What…you didn’t see the Chu Mei Feng video? - that VCD was 50NT oover the web C.O.D.

I’ve seen it, together with all the Taiwanese who came to watch it at the Taipei Film Festival. And, yes, you’ll see everything there is to see, Tsai Mingliang successfully prevented the government from cutting anything. At least in the version they showed at the Tiff.

As horrible as it was, and I personally found it too much, the last scene has a point, as does the whole movie. No, Namahottie, you’re wrong. What you think the movie does is exactly what it criticises (you haven’t even seen it, I told you about the end). I could have done without some of the porn scenes (the later ones, the first few were just hilarious). They’re not really porn in the sense that they’re meant to turn you on, one part of the movie is about a tiny backyard company churning out rather simple porn movies with the same Japanese actress doing nothing but lying on her back and groaning in a school girl voice. And you get to see the Japanese director and the two assistants using really simple means and actions - not very turning on, believe me.

The musical scenes were just funny. And some of the scenes between the guy and the girl who falls in love with him (btw, the two are the characters from “What time is it there?”) were simply great. It’s utterly amazing how he can do scenes that perfect with so little - as always with Tsai Mingliang movies, there is almost no dialogue. But it wasn’t boring at all (unlike “What time is it there?”), and imho opinion, more dialogue would probably have had a disturbing effect in most scenes.

Btw, I’m a Tsai Mingliang fan :blush:, and I almost freaked when he turned up at the theater after the show and I got to shake the Taiwanese VIPs hand that I’ve wanted to meet since I moved here.

Iris

Wow! :astonished: Apart from one or two of the musical sequences (the watermelon dance springs to mind) I found it stultifyingly, mind-numbingly B-O-R-I-N-G! A cynical exercise in gratuitous “art for art’s sake” pretence that was actually rather offensive in its total banality and its utter dearth of artistic expression.
The hack of a director is a shoo-in for Pseud’s Corner, for sure.

Everybody knows my taste is weird, no? :wink:

I think we’ve had that discussion before :wink: and if it wasn’t you, it was somebody else :wink:

However, I agree that, except for the scenes with the mother and the gold fish, his last famous movie “What time is it there?” was utterly boring. I still like Tsai Mingliang, though.

Iris

Actually no, that’s not what the ending is. In some subverted feminist mindset, perhaps. But by the same argument, why aren’t you defending the degradation of man’s sexuality??

In the writers mind however, its taking the drudgery of working to the next level, one person not caring anymore about life and what things are done to them for the money, because they in the past chose to do unsightly things for the money, and one person starting down that path, doing what they don’t want to do but have to for the money, but in the end realizing their error and doing exactly what they want (the ending) for no money.

But it’s still an absolute waste of money, which made ooooodles of cash as it packed theaters with young taiwanese trying to see their first quasi-skin flick.

Thanks Iris I didn’t know the same guy made both movies. “What time is it there?” is absolutely one of my all time favorites. It’s spirit has infused each and every “He left right? brain film school and language studio” production since, utilizing, as they do boredom and irritation to full narrative effect. You should see my grammar movie. It’s like being bored and on acid at the same time.

In somewhat objective terms, the ending to Tsai’s “The River” is more disturbing than the ending to “The Wayward Cloud.”

And I think that “What Time is It There?” is about as close to a perfect film that could be made. The way that so many of the scenes could make you laugh and cry at the same time is incredible.

On the other hand, “Goodby, Dragon Inn” was indeed stultifyingly boring.

Art for art’s sake that was actually rather offensive in it’s total banality and its utter dearth of artistic expression?

Banal as in commonplace? You have to be kidding.

Actually that whole sentence has to be a joke right? Art for art’s sake that is offensive for it’s “utter dearth” of artistic expression. How does this make any sense?

And what is wrong with art for art’s sake anyway?

I’m just curious. Thanks.

I just wrote that because it seemed a bit rude to just say “a load of shite from an untalented buffoon.” But the sentiment is the same.
Banal as in commonplace. That’s it exactly. Scuzzy, boring characters living scuzzy, boring lives documented in a scuzzy, boring film. Banal.

Purely IMHO, of course. :wink:

Wow you must watch a lot of porno! It shocked the hell out of me and the wife. :blush: