Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien is a permanent guest at European film festivals. In 1989 he won the Golden Lion in Venice for the film A CITY OF SADNESS. He was nominated for the Palme d‘Or in Cannes six times. There‘s a reason why he‘s described as the co-founder of the Taiwanese Nouvelle Vague. Over here, the cinema of the auteur is still relatively undiscovered. None of his films are available on DVD here. It is all the more gratifying, then, that the distributor Rapid Eye Movies is bringing a central work of the director to German cinemas around 20 years after it was released.

MILLENNIUM MAMBO is grasping at the future, telling the story as flashbacks in 2011 that was still the unknown future when the film was made in 2001. For protagonist Vicky, time is standing still. She swore to herself years ago that she would leave Jack. But the two of them are co-dependent. They fell in love when they were young. The ambitious dreams got lost in the haze of drugs and partying. Now she works as a hostess at a bar, and when she returns home, he rummages through her bag every time out of jealousy. When Vicky meets businessman Hao-Hao, the hope of a way out starts to germinate.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien‘s portrait of young people in Taipei with no prospects at the turn of the century premiered in Cannes. Two decades later, it shines in new splendor. The neon, intoxicating images of cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-Bing, known for Wong Kar-Wai‘s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, benefits from the 4K restoraton. And we all benefit from Hou Hsiao-Hsein‘s masterpiece finally being discoverable in our cinemas.

Lars Tunçay

Translation: Elinor Lewy