Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang is known for his unique blend of surrealism, contemplation, and comedy. His films are often quite abstract and inaccessible, but contain moments of thought provoking warmth and beauty. The Wayward Cloud (2005) is different and by far his most controversial work.
In the film, Taiwan has a water shortage, and civilians are encouraged to use watermelons as a substitute. This advice is taken on Shiang-Chyi, a pornographic adult actress, leading to some uncomfortable graphic webcam scenes with surrealist cinematography touches.
Shiang-Chyi later meets an old friend who happens to have recently joined the industry. The friend exploits an unconscious woman, culminating in one of the most extreme and bizarre endings I’ve ever seen. Amidst this chaos is an upbeat film with comedy, camp musical numbers, and nuanced surrealist imagery.
The Wayward Cloud (2005) attempts to provoke audiences with its substance and style, and is very successful in achieving this. However, I personally struggled to connect to the film, and understand the symbolism behind some of the graphic imagery. A film shouldn’t require retrospective analysis to understand its messages, and this led me to mark it down.
Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang is known for his unique blend of surrealism, contemplation, and comedy. His films are often quite abstract and inaccessible, but contain moments of thought provoking warmth and beauty. The Wayward Cloud (2005) is different and by far his most controversial work.
In the film, Taiwan has a water shortage, and civilians are encouraged to use watermelons as a substitute. This advice is taken on Shiang-Chyi, a pornographic adult actress, leading to some uncomfortable graphic webcam scenes with surrealist cinematography touches.
Shiang-Chyi later meets an old friend who happens to have recently joined the industry. The friend exploits an unconscious woman, culminating in one of the most extreme and bizarre endings I’ve ever seen. Amidst this chaos is an upbeat film with comedy, camp musical numbers, and nuanced surrealist imagery.
The Wayward Cloud (2005) attempts to provoke audiences with its substance and style, and is very successful in achieving this. However, I personally struggled to connect to the film, and understand the symbolism behind some of the graphic imagery. A film shouldn’t require retrospective analysis to understand its messages, and this led me to mark it down.
