"Zui Yao Yuan De Ju Li" is a film from Taiwan and I must say it's one of the stranger and least satisfying films I've seen in some time. It's all VERY low-key and perhaps you'll like it--I just felt like it was a bit dull and far from satisfying.
This film is about three weird people. The first, and by far the weirdest, is a psychiatrist who likes to pay prostitutes to play unusual sex games with him--nothing especially kinky, just very strange. The second is an odd-ball who travels the length and breadth of the country recording sounds and sending them to a woman--a woman who has since moved and isn't even receiving the tapes. In fact, a stranger (also a lonely person) has been listening to them instead and this weird lady decides to travel throughout the country trying to pinpoint the places where the recordings were made. None of the people are normal, but they all seem rather sad and benign.
The problem with the film is that although the folks are somewhat endearing, there is no real resolution to their loneliness and the film doesn't seem to have much of a point. In particular, by the end of the movie the psychiatrist seems bonkers. And, the recording guy and the woman following his sounds MAY meet--but the film never really establishes this. As a result, it's not at all satisfying--just a bit empty.
The music and cinematography is nice but otherwise I cannot recommend the movie unless you like dull and rather pointless films. I know this sounds pretty mean, but that's the way I see it.
This film is about three weird people. The first, and by far the weirdest, is a psychiatrist who likes to pay prostitutes to play unusual sex games with him--nothing especially kinky, just very strange. The second is an odd-ball who travels the length and breadth of the country recording sounds and sending them to a woman--a woman who has since moved and isn't even receiving the tapes. In fact, a stranger (also a lonely person) has been listening to them instead and this weird lady decides to travel throughout the country trying to pinpoint the places where the recordings were made. None of the people are normal, but they all seem rather sad and benign.
The problem with the film is that although the folks are somewhat endearing, there is no real resolution to their loneliness and the film doesn't seem to have much of a point. In particular, by the end of the movie the psychiatrist seems bonkers. And, the recording guy and the woman following his sounds MAY meet--but the film never really establishes this. As a result, it's not at all satisfying--just a bit empty.
The music and cinematography is nice but otherwise I cannot recommend the movie unless you like dull and rather pointless films. I know this sounds pretty mean, but that's the way I see it.