Vive L'Amour
Director: Tsai Ming-liang
Actors: Chen Chao-jung, Kang-sheng Lee, Kuei-Mei Yang
PlotThe film is set in Taipei and revolves around three solitary individuals connected by their shared use of an empty apartment. May, a real estate agent, is trying to sell the upscale apartment while dealing with her own loneliness. She brings her lover Ah-jung, a street vendor selling women's clothes, into the apartment one night. Unbeknownst to them, a despondent salesman named Hsiao-kang has secretly taken refuge in the same apartment after a failed suicide attempt, living quietly in the unused space. The three characters go about their lives individually, each grappling with feelings of isolation and searching for connection in different ways. The empty apartment serves as both a literal and metaphorical backdrop to their solitude and the complex human emotions they wrestle with.
As May and Ah-jung's affair unfolds in the apartment, Hsiao-kang remains hidden, observing their actions and silently sharing the same space. The lives of these characters intersect in disconnected yet poignant ways, highlighting their mutual yearning for companionship and understanding amidst the bustling, indifferent city. Their interactions are sparse, often characterized by near-misses and unspoken connections. Through subtle gestures and carefully framed moments, the film reveals the internal struggles and emotional voids that each character experiences. The narrative explores themes of urban alienation, vulnerability, and the longing for genuine human contact, ultimately crafting a meditation on loneliness and the fleeting nature of intimacy in modern life.
Writers: Tsai Ming-liang, Yi-chun Tsai, Pi-ying Yang
Release Date: 22 Jul 1996
Runtime: 118 min
Rating: R
Country: Taiwan
Language: Mandarin
Home Video Reviews
A strange, hypnotic dramedy with a black thread of humor; the 2K remaster impressively enhances its provocative art house appeal.
Read our review of Vive L'Amour Blu-ray 愛情萬歲 Ai qing wan sui to find out more