Vive L'Amour - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Vive L'Amour



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


​

Movie
It’s kind of strange to call a movie where the final scene is of a woman sobbing her heart out on a park bench, but Vive L’Amour is definitely a black laced comedy with heavy dramatic overtones. One of Tsai Ming-liang’s films, Vive L’Amour has long been considered one of her best cult classics revolving around the desire for physical and emotional connection. The story is a bit of a strange one as most of the movie is devoid of any dialog except superfluous scenes, or the background discussion of an office, but it’s a fascinating watch about 3 people, alone as can be, yet starving for different aspects of affection.

In the massive city of Taipei (Taiwan) 3 different people all deal with pain, rejection, and loneliness in their own way. The film starts out with a young salesman named Hsiao-kang (Lee Kang-sheng) who stumbles upon an apartment complex where he apparently needs a key to get in. Glancing out of the corner of his eye he sees a key in a lone apartment door, and snags it for later. Simultaneously we are introduced to real estate agent May Lin (Yang Kuei-mei) and Ah-jung (Chen Chao-jung) who end up flirting with each other in a coffee shop and eventually having a one night stand in an apartment that May Lin is selling. An apartment that just so happens to be the same apartment that Hsiao-kang stole the key to.

There’s almost no dialog for the first 15 minutes, so we have to set the stage with the visuals at hand. It appears that Hsiao-kang has stolen the key to the apartment for a very special reason. He wants to commit suicide as he’s suffering from loneliness and depression. However, his attempt is thwarted when May Lin and Ah-jung stumble into the apartment to hook up. What happens next is a strange and awkward menage trois (of sorts) with the three of them playing three stooges around the apartment as they each try to avoid the other in some way. However, the 3 develop an unnoticed friendship or bond that forms as the 3 desperate and lonely people each figure out a way to pull from the others what they need.

This is one of Tsai Ming-liang’s oddest films to date, and one of her most arthouse and “out there” ones as there. Much of the film is told visually, as 75% of the time there is no dialog whatsoever, and the vast majority of said minimal dialog is background discussions among other characters. Instead Tsai Ming-liang uses visual cues and long silent moments to tell her narrative. We get to see the various three leads and their needs unfold. Hsiao-kang is obviously a young gay man in the 1990s and being forced into seclusion for his desires. Ah-jung is your typical guy looking for love, and May Lin starved for true emotional intimacy with her mates. I know I said it was a comedy, but the comedy is a dark and bitter lacing that runs throughout the story (the melon scene is downright hysterical), as one character finds a hint of physical affection but no emotional, another finds an emotional one but no physical, and the third is just starved. It's a comedy of errors, near misses, and a darkly comedic look at human dysfunction.

If you open up the interview on disc, I was rather interested to find out that this wasn’t exactly the smooth production that it seemed. The lead actress was supposedly a replacement at the last moment, and director/writer Tsai Ming-liang was rather light on directions, meaning Yang Kuei-mei felt creatively stifled when she was told to just “look sad” most of the time.

Vive L’Amour is an oddball dramedy and one that really is only going to appeal to art house film fans, and those of you who are already introduced to Tsai Ming-liang’s other works. It’s sweet and caring, whimsical, but also more of an “experience” than your typical movie. The large swaths of dialog less acting is an acquired taste, and while I love the entire experience, completely understand why it’s not everyone’s coup of tea.






Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Film Movement supposedly had a brand new 2K remaster for the film, and it looks fantastic on Blu-ray. The image is bright and clear, with sunny honey drenched sunlit outdoor shots, and pale blue indoor scenes. Grain levels are natural and abundant, with a smooth and even look that doesn’t appear DNR’d or otherwise digitally manipulated. Facial details are abounding with nuances ranging from glistening sweat on a person’s face, or the glimpses of acne or facial imperfections. Colors are a bit on the dulled side in some shots, but also primaries tend to pop with great aplomb when necessary (the red gleam of the swiss army knife stands out with incredible depth). Black levels are mostly great, but in the darker interior shots you can see a few grain spikes come up. Otherwise this is an impeccable encode.







Audio:

The film has a singular 2.0 LPCM mono track to enjoy and while it may not be exactly a massive surround mix, the monorail track does everything excellently. The dialog that is present is always precise and intelligible, and the 2 mains work nicely with the ambient noises of Taipei. It’s simple, elegant, but devoid of any real problems outside of the obvious fact that there was some ADR going on.












Extras:

• Tsai Ming-liang Interview
• Trailers

Final Score: ​

Vive L’Amour is a film I honestly didn’t see getting a domestic release anytime soon. My old Taiwanese Blu-ray crapped out on my last year (that Blu-ray release was known to fail sadly) and when I saw Film Movement take up the mantle I was more than a bit excited. It’s a strange release that will appeal to a narrow band of audience members, but it is a sweet and fascinating dramedy that most classic film fans should at least see once in their life. The new 2K re master looks absolutely fantastic, and makes it the cherry on top.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kang-sheng Lee, Chao-jung Chen, Kuei-Mei Yang, Yi-Ching Lu
Directed by: Tsai Ming-liang
Written by: Tsai Ming-liang
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: Mandarin: LPCM 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English
Studio: Film Movement
Rated: NR
Runtime: 118 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 14th, 2022

Recommendation: Fascinating Art House Watch

 

[Asere]

Sounds strange yet interesting. I may give it a rental. Thanks for the review.

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I am also curious on this.. Will look for this one.

 

[Michael Scott]

Sounds strange yet interesting. I may give it a rental. Thanks for the review.

it's an oddball dramedy, but I find it fascinating. I used to watch this in film class years and years ago.