neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Millennium Mambo
	Hou Hsiao-hsien Shu Qi, Jack Kao, Tuan Chun-hao, Chen Yi-Hsuan, Takeuchi Jun, Niu Chen-er 2001		Shu Qi, the lithe Chinese model-turned-actress and designated eye-candy in the English-language martial-arts flick "The Transporter," is an obvious enticement to see director Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Millennium Mambo." But Hsiao-hsien is more interested in a cultural milieu — the anxious, shady dance/drugs/sex world of Taipei's nightclub scene at the recent turn of the century — than in his attractive leading lady. Depending on your point of view, "Millennium Mambo" is either a stylish, sensuous evocation of misspent youth in a hedonistic, technological society, or it's an aimless series of low-impedance vignettes about self-centered losers drifting through hollow days and nights that are occasionally broken up by flares of anger or violence. Qi is Vicky, a cheerless bar hostess who vacillates between a relationship with Hao-Hao (Tuan Chun-hao), a cranky, self-destructive DJ her own age, and Jack (Jack Kao), a worldlier older man whose mob ties and heedless actions put him in a precarious position. Hsiao-hsien's approach should enthrall fans of the ephemeral, evocative features made by master Asian filmmaker Wong Kar-wai. Impatient viewers may prefer to go elsewhere. Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bing shot Wong's elegant view of passion restrained, "In the Mood for Love," and does a superb job on "Millennium Mambo."