| | |  | TAIWAN | Home » » » Millennium Mambo | | | | | | | Description: | | A neon-saturated story about female entrapment in an urban setting populated by hedonistic, angst-ridden characters. Vicky, engrossed by the narcissistic lifestyle of nightclubs and Ecstasy pills is torn between two men: her neurotic and jealous live-in boyfriend she resolves to break-up with as soon as she can drain $500K from their bank account and an enterprising gangster whose presence becomes both a source of trouble and a beacon of salvation | | | Features: | |
• Working as a hostess in a trendy bar, a young beauty finds herself mercilessly torn between two men: Hao-hao, her neurotic and jealous live-in boyfriend, and Jack, the mysterious and enterprising gangster who may be her undoing. Set against the intoxicating and decadent backdrop of modern day Taipei, Millennium Mambo chronicles the fleeting, finite blooming of a young woman. Featuring a breakthrou
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Qi Shu, Jack Kao, Chun-hao Tuan, Yi-Hsuan Chen, Jun Takeuchi | | Director:
| Hsiao-hsien Hou | | Format:
| Color, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| Cantonese | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Palm Pictures / Umvd | | Run Time:
| 105 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| October 19, 2004 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 20 reviews |
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| $17.13+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $17.14+ $3.99 *Shipping | New | | | $18.76+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $24.99+ $2.98 *Shipping This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $29.50+ $4.99 *Shipping | New | | | $41.56+ $4.62 *Shipping | New | |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 20 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 The smokerJan 22, 2006
By LGwriter
"SharpWitGuy"
Directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsien, Millenium Mambo is a compelling portrait of anomie in modern day Taiwan. The lead female, Vicky, played by actress Shu Qi, is seen endlessly lighting cigarettes which quickly comes to represent her lack of direction, her uncertainty about her life. She basically does not know what to do so to substitute something halfway "concrete" for this lack of direction, she lights a cigarette.
In addition, as is true for Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Barren Illusion (not available domestically on VHS or DVD), the director peppers the film with references to Western culture that have pervaded the culture of Taiwan; the implication is that this counts in large part for Vicky's alienation and, by extension, that of her friends who are also bar girls and also that of her boyfriend, Hao Hao.
Hsien uses time splicing to tell his story and this is a subtle use indeed. We see a back and forth of events, some of which Vicky narrates in voiceover, some of which she does not. She goes to Japan to find her new boyfriend Jack after she breaks up with Hao Hao; Jack is a gangster, another oblique reference to Western culture that has corrupted, or at least changed Taiwanese culture. But she also goes there to find two brothers, whose names escape me at the moment, who are half Japanese and half Taiwanese. While there, the camera languidly passes by a long series of posters illlustrating movies both Western and Asian alike. This is Hsien's way, no doubt, of indicating the context of this film itself; it is, after all, only a movie. Or maybe it is, more than anything else, a movie. Who can tell?
Hsien is known for his seemingly ambling, plotless style, and this film is no exception. But here he subtly manages to get Vicky's psyche to burrow under our skins, and the effect is, as many have said, hypnotic. This is as well underscored by the ceaseless techno music, an aspect of the film about which Hsien comments in the interesting interview that comprises one of the special features on the disk.
Hsien's style lends itself, more than anything else, to an intensely subjective view of what he is trying to accomplish with his film(s). For me, this was far more compelling than Goodbye South, Goodbye, a film in which the actor who plays Jack in Millenium Mambo, Jack Kao, also plays a gangster. But here in Millenium Mambo, Hsien wisely focuses instead on a young woman whose emotional isolation, whose anomie, resonates far more fully and deeply throughout the film than was true in Goodbye, South, Goodbye.
There is a gradual momentum that build in Millenium Mambo and it is, I feel, truly intriguing.
Highly recommended.
15 of 17 found the following review helpful:
mesmerizingAug 24, 2004
By hammer
"zumthor"
i think this is one of the most beautiful films i've ever seen. i was absolutely hypnotized by shu qi's performance, her authenticity, her emotion, etc. the scenes have this "real-time" cadence, lending the story yet more authenticity by making the viewer feel as if they are witnessing a 'real' argument, real sex, real healing. each scene seems to pull some of its energy or emotion out of the coloring and lighting of the setting...very deliberate, very beautiful. i don't claim to be a film expert...but i loved what i saw.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Not a movie for everyone...Jun 05, 2007
By M. B. Alcat
"Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back"
"Millennium Mambo", directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien, is not a movie for everyone. The reason why I say that is pretty simple, as not much happens, and the story is somehow slow, unless you get caught up in what is happening to the main character. I did, and that is the reason why I enjoyed this dvd...
The main character of this film is Vicky (Shu Qi), and "Millennium Mambo" is just a way to allow her to tell her story, in her words, from a very subjective point of view. Vicky is an extremely beautiful young woman that lives in Taiwan and doesn't have a clue regarding what to do with her life. But is that her fault, or is that loss of direction something that has to do with the spirit of our time? And why does she make us care?
I should point out that this movie doesn't end neatly, so those who only like that kind of ending won't find it here. "Millennium Mambo" is open-ended, in more or less the same way that Vicky's own story is in the process of changing and doesn't have real fixed limits. I find that fitting, at least for this movie, and I think that you will deem it appropriate too. Recommended!
- Belen Alcat, June 2007 -
PS: I give this movie 3.5 stars out of 5 :)
 One of the most beautiful films of the last few decadesMay 06, 2012
By childeroland
"gunslinger"
One of the best films from perhaps the most impressive filmmaker now working today. A ravishing film of urban youth set adrift in the bars and clubs of an ethereally beautiful contemporary Taipei. Like much of his work this draws criticisms for being static, but in truth he is only extremely patient in this study of languor at the end of the millennium. To quote Walter Chaw: "the film is a precise versification ruled by the unbearable beauty of youth at its terminus and decisions for a lifetime made at the trembling moment of crisis."
5 of 8 found the following review helpful:
An Astounding Film !Oct 13, 2005
By Jamie R. Cook
Films like Millennium Mambo are a very rare, but very special breed indeed . I've seen so so many mediocre to poor films lately. Literally dozens of them. And after you watch so many bad films, you say to yourself "Maybe I just don't have the same passion for movies as I once used to."
And then one day, unexpectedly, a movie like Millennium Mambo appears. And it restores your faith in movies.
After reading many reviews and other peoples opinions of this film, I realized that it takes a special type of person, to appreciate a special type of film. Millennium Mambo is for those who know.
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