Projection and discussion
The Hole
(Issu de la série « 2000 vu par… »)
27 Nov 2022
The event is over
Taiwan, at the dawn of the 21st century, in a totally polluted environment where the rain never stops falling, the island is prey to an epidemic of unknown cause.
A man and woman are neighbours in abandoned public housing that has just been declared a disaster zone. One day, a plumber comes to repair a leak in Hsiao-Kang's apartment. He makes a hole in the floor, promises to return the following day and is never seen again. The hole gives the two neighbours an opportunity to spy on each other. A strange bond is formed between them. The woman dreams that she is dancing and singing to the music of Grace Chang. Sometimes the man joins in with her. One day, she falls ill.
"Song and dance are the true antidepressants, Tsai tells us in the course of the bursts of euphoria that unleash the theatricality of the enclosed space and bring the film to life. There is nothing revolutionary about this idea, but it is comforting. And, above all, the filmmaker suggests that what is theoretically the most depressing reality can, in extreme circumstances, become one with this shimmering enchantment whose apparent irony fades away."
François Gorin, Télérama, 24 March 1999
Tsai Ming-Liang, The Hole (from the series 2000 viewed by…). France-Taiwan, 1998, 95 min, 35 mm, colour, original version with French subtitles
With Lee Kang-Sheng, Yang Kuei-Mei, Miao Ien
Cannes Festival 1998 – official competition
Preceded by:
Tsai Ming-Liang, The Hole 2011. Taiwan, 2011, 9 min, video, colour, without dialogues
With Larisa Bakurova
The Hole 2011 is an experimental film made for the 2011-2012 collection of fashion designer Johan Ku. Tsai Ming-Liang imagines wandering through underground corridors and the Taipei underworld.
Folowed by an encounter between the director and Antoine Guillot
When
6pm - 8pm
Where
© Arena Films