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is slow, and Mr. Tsai's minimal camera movement and deliberate editing may take some getting used to, especially in an era of hectic cutting and hand-held hyperactivity. But he is one of those filmmakers whose visions, once encountered, are hard to shake, a rare director who seems, even at this late
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Finally, Hsiao-Kang and his father travel to see a provincial healer. The healer is not able to foresee anything on their first visit, so they rent a hotel room. That night, they both go to the same bathhouse, separately. Hsiao-Kang eventually walks into his dad's room in the dark, and the two give
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The next morning, the father receives a phone call from the healer, who says that he cannot help them. The father then wakes Hsiao-Kang up and says that they're leaving. Hsiao-Kang walks out onto the hotel room balcony, while clutching his neck and grimacing in pain.
29:
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is, as some critics have claimed, Mr. Tsai's masterpiece, it is an excellent introduction to his oblique narrative style, his favored themes and his careful, lyrical visual sensibility." Critics focused on the film's themes of
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By that night, his neck pain is even worse. He goes to his mother (Lu Yi-ching), and she rubs some lotion on him. However, the pain does not go away. The family tries different methods of healing, including
484:: "Tsai is so adept at pacing and mood, and so good at capturing a sense of yearning, that his film draws us in despite its unusually long takes and sparse cutting." A. O. Scott concluded his review with:
284:, but nothing works, and Hsiao-Kang begins to wish he were dead. Meanwhile, it is apparent that the family is fractured, with communication problems. Hsiao-Kang's father regularly visits a
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Critics also commented on the film's slow pace, calling it "punishing" and "difficult," but still praised Tsai Ming-liang's style of directing. According to Edward
Guthmann of the
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According to Tsai, he had a difficult time convincing actor Miao Tien (who plays the father) to appear in the film. Miao was reluctant because his character was
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is a reliably demanding exponent of the
Taiwanese filmmaker's cinema ... The movie trains the director's unblinking gaze on the breakdown of the
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300:. When Hsiao-Kang's father turns the light on and sees his son, he slaps him, and Hsiao-Kang runs out. They meet back at the hotel room.
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249:). She convinces him to accompany her to a film shoot that she is working on. While eating lunch, Hsiao-Kang is spotted by the film's
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and begins to feel some soreness in his neck. He eventually falls off the bike, and a man, later shown to be his father (
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After the scene is completed, he and his friend get a room in a hotel so Hsiao-Kang can take a shower. The two then have
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said that: "Perhaps the most harrowing of Tsai Ming-Liang's meditations on urban isolation and communication breakdown,
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when his star actor, Lee Kang-sheng, had a similar neck problem for nine months prior to shooting Tsai's
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The family configuration in this film also appeared in director Tsai Ming-liang's previous film,
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Hsiao-Kang (Lee Kang-sheng), a young man in his 20s, is going up an escalator in
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The film was first released in 1997 and opened in the United States in 2001.
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also disliked it for other reasons. Lee Kang-sheng's father called it a "
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501:. He said that, in addition to some people disliking it because of the
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Speaking in Images: Interviews with
Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers
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and has sexual encounters with other men. The mother is having an
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Overall, it was well received by critics and has a 70% rating at
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date, to be reinventing the medium and rediscovering the world."
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608:"Goodbye City, Goodbye Cinema: Nostalgia in Tsai Ming-liang's
229:. The plot centers on a family who has to deal with the son's
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received top-10 votes from two critics and two directors.
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Tsai himself said that he received a lot of criticism for
233:. In 2003, a critic called it Tsai's "bleakest film."
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Queer Asian Cinema: Shadows in the Shade, Volume 39
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801:"Confined Space - Interview with Tsai Ming-Liang"
261:for a few seconds, pretending to be a dead body.
784:Yeh, Emilie Yueh-yu and Davis, Darrell William.
684:
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737:Light Readings: Film Criticism and Screen Arts
392:was completed, they immediately began work on
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790:(Columbia University Press, 2005), p. 279.
665:(Columbia University Press, 2005), p. 380.
27:
18:
1702:Films with screenplays by Tsai Ming-liang
775:, October 26, 2001. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
1697:Central Motion Picture Corporation films
1546:An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker
787:Taiwan Film Directors: A Treasure Island
545:
543:
245:when he meets an old girlfriend of his (
585:
583:
581:
579:
539:
526:polls of the greatest films ever made,
427:47th Berlin International Film Festival
597:. July 27, 2001. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
618:, October 2003. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
213:is a 1997 Taiwanese film directed by
7:
1692:Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winners
644:"An Interview with Tsai Ming-Liang"
557:, March 2003. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
1667:Films about dysfunctional families
642:Culp, Samantha and Coburn, Tyler.
14:
1672:Films directed by Tsai Ming-liang
807:, May 2002. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
633:(Psychology Press, 2000), p. 195.
488:" worth waiting for. The pace of
740:(Wallflower Press, 2000), p. 64.
423:Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize
268:. Hsiao-Kang drives home on his
1522:If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle
707:"Berlinale: 1997 Prize Winners"
818:"Votes for HELIU (1997) | BFI"
349:Lu Chiao-lin as Mother's lover
50:
1:
1687:Taiwanese LGBTQ-related films
1682:1990s Mandarin-language films
1602:Never Rarely Sometimes Always
1191:There's No Smoke Without Fire
1610:Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
1500:Standard Operating Procedure
1098:Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
446:wrote that, "Whether or not
372:, and would appear again in
16:1997 film by Tsai Ming-liang
995:I Don't Want to Sleep Alone
1723:
1133:No Shooting Time for Foxes
805:archive.sensesofcinema.com
616:archive.sensesofcinema.com
591:"Movie Review - The River"
555:archive.sensesofcinema.com
340:as Hsiao-Kang's girlfriend
159:August 27, 1997
84:
80:
66:
38:
26:
1707:1997 LGBTQ-related films
1554:The Grand Budapest Hotel
1371:Strawberry and Chocolate
1221:Canoa: A Shameful Memory
756:. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
696:. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
650:. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
573:. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
505:scene, homosexuals and
481:San Francisco Chronicle
1285:Funny Dirty Little War
971:What Time Is It There?
939:Rebels of the Neon God
518:British Film Institute
495:
375:What Time Is It There?
369:Rebels of the Neon God
1355:Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe
1333:The Asthenic Syndrome
1155:Innocence Unprotected
888:at movies.nytimes.com
486:
436:based on 10 reviews.
346:as Young man at sauna
292:with a pornographer.
1147:Next Year, Same Time
690:"The River - Review"
1618:The Novelist's Film
1594:By the Grace of God
1277:A Season in Hakkari
1167:Something Like Love
1046:Journey to the West
1038:The Skywalk Is Gone
979:Goodbye, Dragon Inn
610:The Skywalk is Gone
1634:A Traveler's Needs
1309:The Sea and Poison
1293:Flowers of Reverie
1245:Alexandria... Why?
1229:The Devil Probably
1141:La Collectionneuse
922:Films directed by
754:rottentomatoes.com
627:Grossman, Andrew.
595:movies.nytimes.com
567:"The River - Cast"
439:The New York Times
266:sexual intercourse
197:Taiwanese Mandarin
1677:Gay-related films
1644:
1643:
1570:Death in Sarajevo
1301:The Mass Is Ended
1261:Akaler Shandhaney
1064:
1063:
987:The Wayward Cloud
799:Leopold, Nanouk.
688:Ventura, Elbert.
551:"Tsai Ming-liang"
523:Sight & Sound
206:
205:
201:Taiwanese Hokkien
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1662:1997 drama films
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834:
833:
828:on March 6, 2021
824:. Archived from
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659:Berry, Michael.
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598:
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549:Hughes, Darren.
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355:as Girl in hotel
338:Chen Shiang-chyi
334:as Film director
247:Chen Shiang-chyi
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145:Strand Releasing
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1161:Signs of Life
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167: (France)
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152:Release date
106:Yang Pi-ying
104:Tsai Yi-chun
72:Hanyu Pinyin
1446:Grill Point
1403:Wag the Dog
1127:The Chasers
1054:No No Sleep
750:"The River"
606:Hu, Brian.
444:A. O. Scott
296:each other
282:acupuncture
227:Lu Yi-ching
180:115 minutes
135:Lu Yi-ching
118:Hsu Li-kong
111:Produced by
89:Directed by
1657:1997 films
1651:Categories
1454:Adaptation
1113:Le Bonheur
1011:Stray Dogs
832:2019-01-13
773:sfgate.com
721:2012-01-08
534:References
511:porn movie
457:alienation
453:loneliness
401:homosexual
362:Production
270:motorcycle
163:1997-08-27
99:Written by
1492:The Other
1395:The River
1317:Commissar
1119:Repulsion
1105:1965â2000
955:The River
884:The River
873:The River
862:The River
851:The River
528:The River
507:feminists
499:The River
490:The River
469:The River
461:isolation
448:The River
419:The River
414:Reception
394:The River
380:The River
328:as Mother
322:as Father
320:Miao Tien
286:bathhouse
274:Miao Tien
231:neck pain
223:Miao Tien
210:The River
193:Languages
131:Miao Tien
33:DVD cover
22:The River
1578:Félicité
1562:The Club
1213:Overlord
963:The Hole
931:Features
867:AllMovie
648:yale.edu
520:'s 2012
465:Allmovie
421:won the
405:gay bars
388:. After
332:Ann Huei
298:handjobs
251:director
123:Starring
1514:Gigante
1478:Offside
1470:Peacock
1269:Shivers
1237:A Queda
886:trailer
516:In the
255:Ann Hui
185:Country
161: (
44:Chinese
1637:(2024)
1629:(2023)
1621:(2022)
1613:(2021)
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1597:(2019)
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1057:(2015)
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1022:(2020)
1014:(2013)
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982:(2003)
974:(2001)
966:(1998)
958:(1997)
950:(1994)
942:(1992)
503:incest
459:, and
290:affair
243:Taipei
225:, and
188:Taiwan
1626:Afire
1379:Smoke
1347:Satan
1030:Other
76:hĂ©liĂș
62:river
1019:Days
1003:Face
856:IMDb
308:Cast
237:Plot
1586:Mug
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