Part of Weekend Classics

A stylish and seductive submersion into the techno-scored neon nightlife of Taipei, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s (THE ASSASSIN, FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON) much-misunderstood marvel stars Shu Qi as an aimless bar hostess drifting away from her blowhard boyfriend and towards Jack Kao’s suave, sensitive gangster. Structured as a flashback to the then-present from the then-future of 2011, it’s a transfixing trance-out of a movie, drenched in club lights, ecstatic endorphin-rush exhilaration, and a nagging undercurrent of ennui.

“Cause for celebration. It's not only a cracking good film, but it is the first by Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-Hsien to gain a national (though limited) release.” —G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

“This extraordinary work of cinematic art is among the most sublime, compelling and beautifully crafted films to grace the big screen…. Hou allows his actors to unfold the story in beautifully modulated performances that capture the essence of lives slowly frittering into wreckage. MILLENNIUM MAMBO is not about a few big acting scenes, but a host of small gestures, glances and bursts of dialogue which signal the characters’ lives on their steady route to disaster.” —Phil Hall, Film Threat