Vive L'Amour

Vive L'Amour
Directed by	Tsai Ming-liang
Produced by	Chung Hu-pin Hsu Li Kong
Written by	Tsai Ming-liang Tsai Yi-chun Yang Pi-ying
Starring	Lee Kang-sheng Chen Chao-jung Yang Kuei-mei
Cinematography	Liao Pen-jung Lin Ming-kuo
Edited by	Sung Shia-cheng
Distributed by	Strand Releasing (U.S.)
Release dates	2 September 1994 (premiere at Venice Film Festival) 22 July 1996 (U.S.)
Running time	118 minutes 120 minutes (Argentina)
Country	Taiwan
Language	Mandarin

Vive L'Amour (Chinese: 愛情萬歲 Aiqing wansui) is a 1994 Taiwanese New Wave film by Tsai Ming-liang. It is a slow-paced film with sparse dialogue about urban alienation, centering on three people who unknowingly share an apartment in Taipei.

Plot

Hsiao-kang (Lee Kang-sheng), a young salesman, discovers a key to an apartment in its lock and takes it. He soon moves into one of the bedrooms, and one night he attempts to commit suicide by slitting his wrists while lying on the bed.

Meanwhile, Ah-jung (Chen Chao-jung) is drinking coffee at a cafe when a beautiful real estate agent, May Lin (Yang Kuei-Mei), sits at the table next to his. Intrigued, he follows her as she walks down the street. Lin catches on and eventually joins him. She leads him to a vacant apartment that she is trying to sell — the same apartment that Hsiao-kang is staying in — and they have sex in one of the bedrooms. Hsiao-kang hears them and stops the bleeding from his wrists.

Ah-jung steals the key to the apartment from Lin and later returns with his belongings. He moves into one of the adjoining bedrooms. That night, he and Hsiao-kang encounter each other in the apartment and have a short argument.

May Lin spends her day trying to sell property. While taking a break, she returns to the apartment when Hsiao-kang and Ah-jung are both there. The two sneak out quietly together and soon form a friendship.

One night, Hsiao-kang goes out for a walk and meets Ah-jung selling dresses on the street. May Lin walks past but does not notice them. Soon, Ah-jung joins her at a food stand and the two return to the apartment and sleep together in the same room as they did the first time. Unbeknownst to them, Hsiao-kang is hiding under the bed as they arrive, and he masturbates as the bed creaks above him.

The next morning, May Lin gets dressed and leaves. Hsiao-kang lies next to the sleeping Ah-jung and kisses him before slowly pulling away. Lin goes to her car but cannot start it, and instead walks on a path in the unfinished Daan Forest Park.^[1] She then sits down on a bench and starts to cry uncontrollably.

Cast

• Lee Kang-sheng (李康生) as Hsiao-Kang, a salesman for a commercial ossuary (納骨塔)
• Yang Kuei-mei (楊貴媚) as Mei-Mei Lin, a real estate agent
• Chen Chao-jung (陳昭榮) as Ah-Jung, a street peddler
• Lu Yi-ching (陸弈靜) as a coffee shop owner

Reception

The film won three Golden Horse Awards, for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Sound Effects. It also won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.^[2]

It has an 83% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[3]

References

External links

• Vive L'Amour at the Internet Movie Database
• Vive L'Amour at AllMovie
• Vive L'Amour at Rotten Tomatoes