Il gusto dell'anguria

In a Taiwan where a drought has caused water to be replaced by watermelons since they are now cheaper, the disaffected population discovers new uses for this fruit, and new sexual fetishes emerge. With this strange idea, Tsai Ming-liang presents an odd romance, as well as a dissection of the porn industry and an exploration of human nature, specifically lust, desire and sexuality. And to my surprise, The Wayward Cloud wasn't just an erotic romance, but also an absurd musical that, like The Hole, features spontaneous musical numbers with Grace Chang songs. And another thing that surprised me was the fact that this film is a sequel to What Time Is It There?, now following the hopeless romantics Hsiao-kang and Shiang-chyi together in a relationship at last. Only Kang does not sell watches in the street anymore. He is a porn actor, and Chyi doesn't know this. With the same characters of a previous film, Tsai continues to build upon his themes of loneliness, alienation, escapism and lack of human connection and communication.

In this alternate version of Taiwan, its inhabitants strive to escape their miserable realities - Kang from the porn world, and Chyi from her empty and lonesome life. Love is their means to escape the darkness that surrounds them. Oh, and imaginary musicals too - Tsai uses musicals as a way for the characters to communicate the feelings that they unable to using words, for their reality is one of long silences, thoughts unspoken and sentiments unshared. Like in The Hole, Tsai Ming-liang contrasts the emptiness and loneliness of a gray reality with the exaggerated musicals of a colorful fantasy. The Wayward Cloud ends with a 15 minute rape scene where Hsiao-kang fucks the unconscious Japanese pornstar to exhaustion while his camera crew films the whole thing, all of them with unhappy faces, clearly disconnected from reality, devoid of any purpose or meaning in their lives. With this sequence that will certainly make some viewers feel uncomfortable - two cold bodies thrusting against each other without producing any sparks of feeling - Tsai showcases the lack of love and connection in the porn industry, how it's all just a job, how people sell their bodies like one would sell watermelons - for a low price and for the buyer to do whatever they like with it. And finally, The Wayward Cloud reaches its final shot, yes, that horrifying and traumatic final shot. The walls of Shiang-chyi's fantasy of a perfect romance come crashing down as she gets a taste of the nasty reality of life (no pun intended).

The Wayward Cloud might be 'too much' for some (if so, check out the less extreme but still Asian food-porn film, Tampopo), but for me this is a masterpiece. As usual, Lee Kang-sheng is amazing as Hsiao-kang, but Chen Shiang-chyi shined particularly brighter in this film, in my opinion. Though seeing Lee as a sea-monster singing to the moon, and dressed in pink women's clothes while singing that catchy song, was something I never expected to see but absolutely enjoyed. Despite having Tsai's classic contemplative lengthy takes and prolongued moments of silence, The Wayward Cloud is certainly less meditative and slow than most of Tsai Ming-liang's work. It's much more energetic, ridiculous, juicy and freaky, which works perfectly with the themes and concept of this story. The Wayward Cloud is both dark and hilarious, and as I've seen someone say before, Tsai's films are simultaneously funny and sad, never just one or the other - I couldn't agree more. I just loved my time with this lyrical porno-musical of a masterpiece.

From the very inventive start to the wicked, tense climax, "Wayward Cloud" is an allegory of longing, frustration and tongue in cheek solutions. Deliciously slow at times, intercepts with frenetic musical scenes in Technicolor splendor, and contrasts with gritty-down-right-dirty voyeuristic insights into pornographic industry; this was the stuff Barney tried to create with 10 times the budget in his Cremaster Cycles (and none of the wit)

The use of 60's Chinese Pop, choreography with enough cheese to put any Madonna's clip to shame offered a break from the relentless heat and the hilarious sex scenes, their seemingly unconnectedness served to heightened the restless state of wander that the characters seem to float in.

In this drought, water isn't the only thing that's running scarce.

Water melons will never be seen in the same light!!!

The Wayward Cloud features everything one expects from a Tsai Ming-Liang film, but it is also much more sexually explicit. The shot compositions, the use of space, and the choreography of the musical numbers are excellent. However, not everyone is going to enjoy a musical number featuring a woman and men dressed as the fluid that she had just received a moment before in the main narrative.

I understand the perspective of those who argue that Tsai doesn't have a clear point here, as he does in his other films. I would argue, though, that the film is more challenging because it does not offer the glimmer of hope found in Tsai's previous films (the woman pulled up in The Hole, May's dignity even as she cries at the end of Vive L'amour). The viewer has to piece together any hope from various parts of the film, as the shocking finale is not at all uplifting.

Tsai has some real insights into the human condition here. Xiao Kang's autoerotic sexuality has a lot to say about loneliness and insecurity. Also, the flirtation between Xiao Kang and Shiang-chyi is very charming, even sexy (I'm thinking especially of the way Xiao Kang leans against the elevator after their date.) I think this film's vision brings to light the way sexuality has become a commodity, and I find it tragic that Xiao Kang and Shiang-chyi find that there is great difficulty in overcoming that commodification.

I saw this film at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it was the most memorable film of the fest--more so than other great films screening like Capote or Brokeback Mountain and for sure, your run of the mill, Hollywood films like Elizabethtown, In her Shoes, Walk the Line, etc. Wayward Cloud is a daring film about love, sex and isolation, and it's set in an almost apocolyptic time when watermelon has become the source of water, food and fetish! The film is amazingly original.

Definitely, the "real time" shots which are often utilized in Taiwanese film, can try your patience, but indeed there is a "zone" for Tsai Ming Liang's films and once you get there, all the images are mesmerizing--watching a woman walk up a flight of stairs, etc. And the sex scenes (which are plenty b/c the film deals with porn) further highlights our voyeuristic "mesmerization" reflected in the style of the film.

Short of writing a spoiler, please please see this film (if it is distributed in your area)...the last shot is the most disgusting and most beautiful thing ever...you'll have to see for yourself.

I saw the film in a screening in the Jerusalem film festival in Israel. Tsai came with lee kang-sheng his actor and together they introduced the film to us Israeli film buffs. The film was a blast.

Tsai said many people leave before the end of the film, it certainly happened, but us who managed to enter the special "mode" tsai requires from his audience enjoyed a modern masterpiece! To me it felt like a mixture of tati's "playtime" and oshima's "in the realm of the senses", to witch you must add obscure eastern musical numbers. It was breathtaking, funny, disturbing, sad and romantic.

It's true, the film shows men and women in degrading situations - but that is the main issue of the film and it deals with it with great compassion. The image of kang-sheng sitting in the street after the shooting of a porn scene, to discover ants crawling on his chest and forehead says it all.

Thank you very much Tsai Ming-liang.