8.11.2005
tsai ming-liang's the wayward cloud
i often find that my greatest problem, artistically, has more to do with vocabulary than with form or content. meaning that it's neither inspiration nor technical prowess that tends to trouble me, but iconography (and its process of generation). my ideas formulate and my skills are what they are, but finding the right forms for them is a horse of a different color.
in this regard, taiwanese (technically malaysian) filmmaker tsai ming-liang is an important source of inspiration. i can think of no other filmmaker working today with a vocabulary as fine-tuned and idiosyncratic as tsai. his world expands into three dimensions on account of a stubborn sense of reduction, resulting in a near-empty world populated only by the objects of his most tender concerns. every element in a tsai film bears the warm glow of obsession. in the tradition of yasujiro ozu, his work finds its momentum on account of the parameters he puts into place, rather than in spite of them. the films that result appear as slices of a single narrative, building upon one another in a slow state of expansion.
tsai's most recent film is the wayward cloud, the third installment in a quasi-series which began with 2001's what time is it there? and continued with a little gem called the skywalk is gone in 2002 (which, FYI, is included as an extra on the region 1 dvd of goodbye dragon inn). much fuss has been made regarding its status as a sequel to what time-- and, make no doubt about it, the wayward cloud's potent mix of provocations will certainly ruin that film for many. you see, the not-quite couple from what time is finally united in the newer film, thus abolishing a certain fantasy of "impossible love," among other things. and both characters have found work in the porno industry this time, to boot. tsai-regular lee kang-sheng (arguably my favorite living actor) becomes a bona-fide porno-star, whereas quasi-love-interest chen shiang-chyi works in an adult video store.
(plot-wise, i won't say anymore. as far as i'm concerned, the ideal way to experience this film would be with a decent understanding of his previous work, and as little info regarding the plot as possible)
the wayward cloud is not so much a sequel to what time is it there? as it is a synthesis and extension of nearly all of tsai's major themes... the erotic, water-logged landscape that drenches most of his work is reconfigured as a widespread drought... the left-field musical outbursts of the hole return with greater absurdity... the lurid kinks of the river are pushed to audacious extremes. even tsai's strangest thematic element, namely the watermelon-as-love-object bit in vive l'amour, resurfaces in strange and amusing ways.
with nearly every trick in his bag on display, tsai essentially begins thinking out loud. his trademark long-takes and restrained performances remain in tact, but the smooth, unifying sensuality he last explored in goodbye dragon inn is nowhere to be found. this is tsai at his loosest and most vulnerable, and possibly his most brilliant as well.
the film remains on the offense from beginning to end. his typical art-house understatement is shadowed with garish song and dance routines, blurring the lines between boho ennui and hysterical sentiment. tsai's trademark slow camera is doubled by the long-takes of hardcore pornography (perhaps the only arena wherein such cinematic duration is typically endured?). if he has previously concerned himself almost entirely with cinematic humility, the wayward cloud reverses his usual logic. it is a film of great violence-- aesthetic, ideological, emotional and physical violence-- that throws both author and spectator into an unreasonable state of uncertainty. it is enormously intelligent and deeply juvenile at once, and it will undoubtedly alter the way in which his work (past, present and future) will be both apprehended and comprehended.
something i find very distinct in recent film-making is the way that certain films generate complexity on account of their overtness. the wayward cloud (in a manner not unlike claire denis' trouble every day, for example) moves always in the direction of ecstasy. a scene that begins with an obvious, metaphorical provocation extends beyond its initial meaning, acquiring the physical OOMPH of an utterance. tsai is a sinewy filmmaker; he stretches things (tensions, gazes, actions, attention-spans). and he applies his hand to atrocity as well. tugging away, he finds an excess in content. an appendage to the obvious. there are a number of ethically questionable moments in the wayward cloud. a convincing argument, for example, might be made in regards to its considerable potential for misogyny. but i love it, nonetheless. tsai's tenderness clings tightly to his rising pitch. his viciousness remains lugubrious, but never hateful, pushing his project ever further into those zones of great complexity where one finds laughter, tears, and cum.
in this regard, taiwanese (technically malaysian) filmmaker tsai ming-liang is an important source of inspiration. i can think of no other filmmaker working today with a vocabulary as fine-tuned and idiosyncratic as tsai. his world expands into three dimensions on account of a stubborn sense of reduction, resulting in a near-empty world populated only by the objects of his most tender concerns. every element in a tsai film bears the warm glow of obsession. in the tradition of yasujiro ozu, his work finds its momentum on account of the parameters he puts into place, rather than in spite of them. the films that result appear as slices of a single narrative, building upon one another in a slow state of expansion.
tsai's most recent film is the wayward cloud, the third installment in a quasi-series which began with 2001's what time is it there? and continued with a little gem called the skywalk is gone in 2002 (which, FYI, is included as an extra on the region 1 dvd of goodbye dragon inn). much fuss has been made regarding its status as a sequel to what time-- and, make no doubt about it, the wayward cloud's potent mix of provocations will certainly ruin that film for many. you see, the not-quite couple from what time is finally united in the newer film, thus abolishing a certain fantasy of "impossible love," among other things. and both characters have found work in the porno industry this time, to boot. tsai-regular lee kang-sheng (arguably my favorite living actor) becomes a bona-fide porno-star, whereas quasi-love-interest chen shiang-chyi works in an adult video store.
(plot-wise, i won't say anymore. as far as i'm concerned, the ideal way to experience this film would be with a decent understanding of his previous work, and as little info regarding the plot as possible)
the wayward cloud is not so much a sequel to what time is it there? as it is a synthesis and extension of nearly all of tsai's major themes... the erotic, water-logged landscape that drenches most of his work is reconfigured as a widespread drought... the left-field musical outbursts of the hole return with greater absurdity... the lurid kinks of the river are pushed to audacious extremes. even tsai's strangest thematic element, namely the watermelon-as-love-object bit in vive l'amour, resurfaces in strange and amusing ways.
with nearly every trick in his bag on display, tsai essentially begins thinking out loud. his trademark long-takes and restrained performances remain in tact, but the smooth, unifying sensuality he last explored in goodbye dragon inn is nowhere to be found. this is tsai at his loosest and most vulnerable, and possibly his most brilliant as well.
the film remains on the offense from beginning to end. his typical art-house understatement is shadowed with garish song and dance routines, blurring the lines between boho ennui and hysterical sentiment. tsai's trademark slow camera is doubled by the long-takes of hardcore pornography (perhaps the only arena wherein such cinematic duration is typically endured?). if he has previously concerned himself almost entirely with cinematic humility, the wayward cloud reverses his usual logic. it is a film of great violence-- aesthetic, ideological, emotional and physical violence-- that throws both author and spectator into an unreasonable state of uncertainty. it is enormously intelligent and deeply juvenile at once, and it will undoubtedly alter the way in which his work (past, present and future) will be both apprehended and comprehended.
something i find very distinct in recent film-making is the way that certain films generate complexity on account of their overtness. the wayward cloud (in a manner not unlike claire denis' trouble every day, for example) moves always in the direction of ecstasy. a scene that begins with an obvious, metaphorical provocation extends beyond its initial meaning, acquiring the physical OOMPH of an utterance. tsai is a sinewy filmmaker; he stretches things (tensions, gazes, actions, attention-spans). and he applies his hand to atrocity as well. tugging away, he finds an excess in content. an appendage to the obvious. there are a number of ethically questionable moments in the wayward cloud. a convincing argument, for example, might be made in regards to its considerable potential for misogyny. but i love it, nonetheless. tsai's tenderness clings tightly to his rising pitch. his viciousness remains lugubrious, but never hateful, pushing his project ever further into those zones of great complexity where one finds laughter, tears, and cum.
