The Hole (1998)

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Directed by Tsai Ming-Liang.

Starring Yang Kuei-Mei, Lee Kang-Sheng, Miao Tien, Tong Hsiang-chu.

At the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, this Taiwanese-French drama won a FIPRESCI Award, given by international critics. Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang previously won top awards for his 1994 Vive l'amour (at Venice) and 1996 The River (at Berlin). High strangeness is evident in the tale, originally initiated as part of the French TV series of one-hour end-of-millennium dramas. As an epidemic spreads through Taipei, virus victims display odd symptoms. A man (Lee Kang-sheng) who runs a food store with few customers lives in a shabby building in a quarantined section, and a woman (Yang Kuei-mei) in the same building has a withdrawn existence. A plumber, checking a leak, makes a hole in the man's floor and leaves; the man then observes his neighbors through the hole. The film features four musical fantasy sequences that recall Hong Kong musical films of the '50s. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Re:Double features
by Macabre_FilmNut in B Movies

hasn't rated it.

"[quote user="leeroy711"] [quote user="SkyPilot"] [quote user="leeroy711"] Yeah, I still had a good time. Watching bad movies with friends is often more fun than watching good movies. [/quote] I agree completely, man. I think you're hitting on what made me say B movies are perfect movies to "misbehave" to. They're wonderful social movies, and because the movie itself often misbehaves (i.e. Martin Lawrence lying next to a naked corpse in Bad Boys 2), that's like a hammer on my kneecap, and I kick back! On the other hand, regarding good movies: have you guys seen Murder, My Sweet? Every line of dialogue is so choice I wouldn't want to miss any of it! My friends might say some really funny stuff about it, but I'd still prefer it if they shut the *f* up while the movie's playing. [/quote] Tru dat, I tend to try to watch the movies that I'm most interested in seeing by myself. I can understand why most of the public wouldn't appreciate a film like Spirit of the Beehive or The Hole. Where ... " [More]

Re:Foreign Gems
by leeroy711 in Friends of Foreign Flicks

is neutral about it.

"[quote user="Risselada"] I have a few favorite foreign directors. It's somewhat difficult for me to evaluate how well known some of these people are since when I like them I spend a lot more time reading about them, so they don't seem too obscure to me anymore. Tsai Ming-liang Aki Kaurismäki Seijun Suzuki I've just seen one movie by Béla Tarr, but it was pretty great. [/quote] The only film I've seen by any of those guys was The Hole by Tsai Ming-lian. But along similar lines, I've been recommended Oldboy by Park Chan-Wook. " [More]

Re:Double features
by leeroy711 in B Movies

is neutral about it.

"[quote user="SkyPilot"] [quote user="leeroy711"] Yeah, I still had a good time. Watching bad movies with friends is often more fun than watching good movies. [/quote] I agree completely, man. I think you're hitting on what made me say B movies are perfect movies to "misbehave" to. They're wonderful social movies, and because the movie itself often misbehaves (i.e. Martin Lawrence lying next to a naked corpse in Bad Boys 2), that's like a hammer on my kneecap, and I kick back! On the other hand, regarding good movies: have you guys seen Murder, My Sweet? Every line of dialogue is so choice I wouldn't want to miss any of it! My friends might say some really funny stuff about it, but I'd still prefer it if they shut the *f* up while the movie's playing. [/quote] Tru dat, I tend to try to watch the movies that I'm most interested in seeing by myself. I can understand why most of the public wouldn't appreciate a film like Spirit of the Beehive or The Hole. Where as, I couldn't imagine s ... " [More]

The Hole
by Risselada in Risselada Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"The HoleThis was my first Tsai Ming-Liang movie, and it made me fall instantly in love with his focus and style.Apparently made as part of a series of movies from different directors around the globe as a focus on the upcoming new millennium, I would like to see the rest although I don't think I have. I know Hal Hartley has one that I would like to see as well.This movie is all about contrasts. It's actually a musical, I guess you could say. The setting is Taipei where a large section of the city has been quarantined due to the outbreak of some strange pathology. The two main characters a young man and woman have both decided to remain in their apartment complex while everyone else has evacuated. It's apparent that this building and this life is all that they have. They don't seem to have any other family or friends that are terribly concerned with them. The man's apartment is directly above the woman's but they don't seem to know each other at al ... " [More]

Re: Top 5 Movies About Music
by Risselada in Filmspotting

loved it.

"I'm not sure why everyone always makes these self imposed rules like "no bio pics" and such.First of all it's hard to pick movies about music because movies themselves almost ARE music. Music is certainly the closest artform to film.I'm just going to do a search for keyword "music" on IMDB for movies I rated and pick the ones that seems the most relevent.The Singing Detective. A great mini-series and a great film. The film took what was fundamentally British in the miniseries and found the American equivalent. Wow this movie is dense and beautiful. I've found out that the musicals I like that most are ones that don't have original music but use prexisting familiar music in a way to inform or contrast the themes of it's particular story.Amadeus. There's no reason this movie shouldn't count. It's just too good.The Ruling Class. Another great British film to use prewritten music to amazing darkly comic and profound effect.The Hole. This is ... " [More]

Re: Top 5 Sea/Water Movies
by Risselada in Filmspotting

loved it.

"Here's a few more I haven't seen mentioned yet.I'm surprised no one mentioned what I thought was the most classic boat movie of all time L'AtalanteDead Man (all the scenes in his little boat)the same goes for Down By Law in the little boat in the swamp.I'm surprised no one mentioned The Life Aquatic With Steve ZissouSphere, although it's a much better book than a movieThe Poseidon Adventure not the greatest either, but maybe still worth mentioning Since you are saying WATER, what about movies with lots of rain in them like Blade Runner or The Hole (the latter is very wet overall!) " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

This dystopian musical is a typically deadpan elaboration of Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang's trademark obsessions. Set in a grim, dilapidated apartment complex in a rainy, not-too-distant future, The Hole pushes Tsai's absurdist cinema to its loopiest extreme. Starring Yang Kuei-Mei and Tsai regular Lee Kang Sheng as zombified neighbors, the movie imagines a dreary world where urban anomie and existential loneliness have seemingly ground life to a halt. Barely acknowledging the other's existence, the two drift purposelessly through their bleak landscape, taking in apathetic stride their apocalyptic limbo. The only respite comes in the form of song. Using a device commonly associated with British writer Dennis Potter (Pennies From Heaven, The Singing Detective), Tsai punctuates his minimalist action with lip-synched renditions of popular radio standards (the songs here are from Hong Kong musicals of the 1950s). Stupefied and glum one minute, his characters burst into delirious musical numbers the next, unexpectedly -- and joyfully -- interrupting the monotony of their listless lives. As in Potter's works, the pop interludes express subliminal desires, as well as underscore the characters' profound loneliness. Placed side by side with his rigorously inert mise-en-scéne, the wonderfully choreographed numbers almost create an effect of visual vertigo; they're that much more delirious because they spring from such a constricted source. A true oddity, The Hole is as pleasurable as millennial angst gets. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide

Tags: fake , rain , personal-classic , stuck-in-my-head , gracechang
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