Millennium Mambo

Renowned Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien returns with this look at one woman’s life in Taiwan, which was his first film in three years. Vicky (Shu Qi) is a footloose young woman living in Taipei as the 20th century is giving way to the 21st. Vicky is young, beautiful, and has money in the bank, so her life ought to be a happy one, but she’s been having bad luck with relationships. Vicky is living with her boyfriend Hao-hao (Tuan Chun-hao), a DJ at a dance club where she hangs out, but they argue constantly, and when Vicky and her brothers (Jun Takeuchi and Ko Takeuchi) go to Japan to visit their mother, the relative peace and quiet starts her wondering if she has any future with Hao-hao. When she returns to Taipei, Vicky decides to break it off with Hao-hao and begins dating a straight-laced businessman named Jack (Jack Kao), but while he’s a more mature and responsible man, Vicky longs for a partner who can bring more excitement into her life. Qianxi Manbo had an unusually long production history, due in part to cinematographer Mark Lee’s commitment to shoot the film In the Mood for Love, which led Hou Hsiao-hsien to shut down the production until he could return., A beautiful club hostess is torn between her jealous boyfriend and a middle-aged businessman with ties to the mob., Vicky is a free spirited party girl living with her jealous boyfriend Hao Hao. When Vicky meets Jack, a businessman connected to the mafia, she falls in love with him and they begin an affair. Millennium Mambo won the Technical Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 2001.