(Dong, Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan/France 1998, 95 min., 35mm, Mandarin with English subtitles)
Tsai Ming-liang’s cinema of loneliness and isolation (Rebels of the Neon God, Goodbye, Dragon Inn) was identified by the French miniseries 2000 Seen by…, which told stories of the approaching millennium from ten different directors in ten different countries. Originally broadcast as a 69-minute episode called Last Dance, this longer version is the director’s preferred cut, now available in the United States on brand new 35mm prints. Set just prior to the start of the 21st century, this vaguely futuristic story follows two residents of a quickly crumbling building who refuse to leave their homes in spite of a virus that has forced the evacuation of the area. As rain pours down relentlessly, a single man (Kang-sheng Lee) is stuck with an unfinished plumbing job and a hole in his floor, resulting in a contentious relationship with the woman who lives below him (Kuei-Mei Yang). The film is punctuated by fantastical musical numbers featuring the two stars lip-syncing to songs by the inimitable Grace Chang. Combining deadpan humor with an austere view of loneliness, The Hole is one of the most original films of the 1990s.
35mm print from Big World Pictures.