"Millennium Mambo" A flower running at the speed of sound, chasing fragments of the night

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2024.02.27Daiji Miyashiro

The speed of sound of youth is stalling in the city

According to the book " Hou Hsiao-hsien and My Taiwanese New Cinema " by Chu Tianwen, who has been writing the screenplays for Hou Hsiao-hsien's films for many years, the draft of "Millennium Mambo" was titled "The Sonic Speed of Youth, the Stalling City" (this book contains many beautiful essays). Hou Hsiao-hsien had been frequenting clubs where young people gather for two years before starting work on this film. The live performance of Vicky Shu Qi evaporated by the sonic speed of electronic music.

"Millennium Mambo" includes scenes from Yubari in Hokkaido. In a conversation with Kurosawa's scriptwriter Nogami Teruyo, the film was originally conceived as being divided into five parts: "Past, Present, Imagination, Fantasy, and Future." The Yubari scenes are Vicky's "imagination," but in the end, they were all depicted as "reality." Vicky heads to Yubari as if fleeing Taipei. The sight of Vicky jumping into the snow with all her might and playing innocently is precious. Vicky buries her face in the snow to make a mold. It is heartbreaking to see the mold/imprint of Vicky that will soon disappear as the snow falls.

Another Japanese scene is set at Hotel Koryukaku in Okubo, Shinjuku. A train runs behind the window of Vicky's room. City Hotel Koryukaku is Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Japanese home," and the room he always reserves for his visits to Japan is "Room 408" (Vicky stays in Room 403). Deleted scenes from "Millennium Mambo" include another scene of Vicky frolicking in Yubari and riding a train. These are the foundations for his next film, " Coffee Lick " (2003) (unfortunately, all of the location shooting in Yubari was deleted). These are so beautiful shots that it would be a shame to cut them out.

Through Vicky's drift, Millennium Mambo continues to capture intangible emotions, things that float and disappear between space and time. Even the escape to Yubari does not provide the nourishment for a new life. Falling snow washes everything away. The legendary first scene, in which the characters step through a tunnel, was originally intended to be an image of chasing the moon. No matter how much they chase, the moonlight just keeps escaping. Millennium Mambo is a film like a letter from the future. A film that floats forever in the debris of the night. The neon lights celebrating the millennium and Vicky's soul, like a flower that flies at the speed of sound, are still chasing the moon somewhere in the world.

Reference materials

・"Millennium Mambo" DVD bonus footage (Happinet Pictures)

・"Hou Hsiao-hsien's Film Lectures" (Misuzu Shobo), written by Hou Hsiao-hsien, edited by Zhuo Bo-tang, translated by Akiyama Tamako

・"Hou Hsiao-hsien and My Taiwanese New Cinema" by Zhu Tianwen, edited and translated by Higuchi Yuko and Kosaka Fumiko (Takeshobo)

Text: Daiji Miyashiro (maplecat-eve)

Movie criticism. Contributed reviews to ``Leos Carax: Movie Wanderer'', Eureka's ``Wes Anderson Special'', Real Sound, Soen, otocoto, Toshio Matsumoto Special Pamphlet, etc.

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"Millennium Mambo 4K Restored Edition"

From Friday, February 16, 2024 at Shinjuku Musashinokan, Shimokitazawa K2 and other theaters nationwide

Provided by: JAIHO Distributed by: SPOTTED PRODUCTIONS

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