| | |  | ASIA | Home » » The Wayward Cloud | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | Set against the backdrop of the city of Tapei, a jaded adult movie star daydreams in elaborate, erotic musical fantasies. Award-winning film director, Tsai Ming-Liang (VIVE L`AMOUR and I DON`T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE) weaves fascinating, colorful musical numbers into a tale of sexual voyeurism. When sexual fantasies and realities collide, the line blurs, creating an outrageous tale of obsessions.
Directed by acclaimed director Tsai Ming-Liang (VIVE L`AMOUR, I DON`T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE, WHAT TIME IS IT THERE?) and starring Lee Kang-Sheng (HELP ME EROS, THE WAYWARD CLOUD, I DON`T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE), Chen Shiang-Chyi (THE WAYWARD CLOUD, I DON`T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE, WHAT TIME IS IT THERE?), Lu Yi-Ching, Yang Kuei-Mei. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Lee Kang-Sheng, Chen Shiang-Chyi, Lu Yi-ching, Yang Juei-mei, Yozakura Sumomo | | Director:
| Tsai Ming-Liang | | Format:
| Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen | | Language:
| Chinese | | Subtitle:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Strand Releasing | | Run Time:
| 114 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| June 10, 2008 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 6 reviews |
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| $12.14 | New | | | $14.52 | New | | | $14.53 | New | | | $14.54 | New | | | $15.54 | New | | | $15.94 | New | | | $16.73 | New | | | $17.86 | New | | | $18.93 | New | | | $19.57 | New | | | $21.90 | New | | | $22.49 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | |
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 2nd Tsai experince does nothing to harm my opinion of his artistic credibilityJan 07, 2010
In an early episode in The Wayward Cloud, Shiang-chyi (Chen Shiang-chyi) spends an aimless afternoon watching television news reports on the ongoing drought and the coincidentally timed falling market price of watermelons, leading the anchorman to jokingly remark that drinking watermelon juice has become more economical than drinking water. The theme of essential substitution proves particularly metaphoric (and revelatory) in light of Tsai Ming Liang's own comments on the symbolism of water in his films (as transcribed in the Editions Dis Voir publication, Tsai Ming Liang): "...I always regard the characters in my films as plants which are short of water, which are almost on the point of dying from lack of water. Actually, water for me is love, that's what they lack. What I'm trying to show is very symbolic, it's their need for love." It is within this context that the ubiquitous and often comical presence of watermelons in the film (used as sexual paraphernalia for an erotic film, a colorful recurring motif in an Umbrellas of Cherbourg-styled dream sequence, and a medium of polite exchange in a display of innocent, mutual affection) can be seen as a surrogate manifestation of the fundamental human need for connection.
The repeated image of elevators in the film provides another recurring element within Tsai's oeuvre. Dynamic and transitory, the elevators (or as in the case of The River, escalators) in Tsai's films recall the desolate, interior spaces of Chantal Akerman's early structural films (most notably, the elevators of Hotel Monterey and the subway cars of News from Home that similarly reflect their role as impermanent vessels for transporting human souls - as commutative mechanisms. This image of mechanical transportation can be seen throughout Tsai's body of work, from the literal vessels of the dead (the mausoleum in Vive l'amour and the cremation urn - and later, Ferris wheel - of What Time is it There?) to the figurative vessels represented by the elevators. Rather than symbolizing an existential station as suggested by Jean Pierre Rehm in the Dis Voir book, the elevators instead seem to provide thematic parallel for man-made conveyances as a metaphor for the displaced physical body itself in contemporary (urban) society: a body that is subject to depersonalized, anonymous ritual and repetition - a phenomenon that becomes acutely evident in the joyless, mechanical, unrealistic, and de-eroticized sex scenes of Hsiao-Kang's (Kang-sheng Lee) porn films. Contrasted against the effervescent - and equally artificial - stylization of the musical sequences, what emerges is a bracing systematic deconstruction of fantasy, role-playing, and illusion.
Drifting...always driftingJan 06, 2010
This is one of those movies that it is not easy to form an opinion about. Your first reaction upon watching it is pretty much going to be "Huh?" Followed shortly by "Did I really just see that? Did that guy really just masturbate that girl with a watermelon?"
"The Wayward Cloud" ("Tian bian yi duo yun") is difficult to categorize. Is it Art? Pornography? Weird for weirdness sake? Director Tsai Ming-liang (I Don't Want to Sleep Alone) is treading the same tightrope as Lars Von Trier (Breaking the Waves), keeping his balance between the high and the low, the sacred and the profane. This is a film that is bound to offend, confuse, entertain and challenge viewers all with the same imagery.
Somewhat the third part of a trilogy, "The Wayward Cloud" continues the story of Shiang-chyi (played by actress Shiang-chyi Chen) and Hsiao-Kang (played by actor Kang-sheng Lee) from "What Time Is It There?" and the short film "The Skywalk is Gone." Although they share characters, the films are connected more thematically rather than by direct storyline, with Shiang-chyi's isolation from society, and attempting to find connections. Ming-liang has used Kang-sheng Lee playing Hsiao-Kang for about eight films now, but they are not as directly connected as the three films featuring Shiang-chyi Chen. Yes, I know. It gets confusing.
"The Skywalk is Gone" had set up the concept of water slowly disappearing from Taipei in a devastating drought, which is carried over into "The Wayward Cloud," where the scarcity of water has given it a sexual thrill, and people suck down watermelons in order to quench their thirst. Shiang-chyi has reconnected with old boyfriend Hsiao-Kang, who is now an adult movie actor instead of a seller of watches. Their reunion brings few sparks, however, as Hsiao-Kang's job leaves him unable to feel emotion during sex, which has become purely mechanical for him. Both of them are lost in the grey and lonely world of daily scavenging for water, while having an active fantasy life of bright colors and musical sequences straight out of the Peking Opera.
More of a cacophony of images than a plotted film, "The Wayward Cloud" drifts back and forth from fantasy to reality, from raw sex and the ugliness of humanity to brilliant fantasy sequences that would put Busby Berkley to shame. The disconnection of humanity from humanity, the isolation in the modern world, shows up as Shiang-chyi and Hsiao-Kang are unable to find any meaning in their lives beyond base existence.
In terms of sexuality, Ming-liang has pushed all possible boundaries here. Rumored to be unsimulated, (to which I could not answer. It certainly looks real, but they can do amazing things with editing and effects nowadays) "The Wayward Cloud" punctuates almost every scene with sex, although never done in a way to excite. Ming-liang wants to show the hollowness of pornography, and the soullessness of those who perform a basic human function as a way of making a living. This naturally got him into trouble with the Taiwanese government, which finally agreed to release the film uncut due to its artistic merit.
If you make it all the way through "The Wayward Cloud" (and many people don't) you will be left with many questions and ways to interpret the film. Was that girl dead at the end? Did Shiang-chyi cry tears of joy that she finally connected emotionally with Hsiao-Kang, or tears of sorrow that he was simply using her as a receptacle? Ming-liang does not make it easy on you, and many more hours could be spent debating the ideas and merits of "The Wayward Cloud" than are actually spent watching it.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
A fun musical with silent relationships.Nov 13, 2009
Wayward Cloud as I been reading is mostly described as slow film with way to much sex in it. Ok, but, the sex in this film is in no way sexual. If you're buying, renting or barrowing this movie do not watch it as a sexual film or as a piece art erotica. It's not Swimming Pool. It's a film exploring the separation of people through the digital age.
In the film, the main female character is not in anyway involved in pornography but has sexual interest in her old friend which happens to be a porn star. He though isn't able to express his sexual attraction to her because he has absolutely no interest in sex. Sex being his profession and not his pleasure. So he escapes into surreal fantasy of musical sequences. Which happen to be some of the funniest dance sequences I've ever seen.
That said the film is slow, poetic and completely captivating. I couldn't look away. I've seen this film now a few times, each time I've found myself captured by the silent relationship of the characters. This film is not for everyone, not at all. It's for the people interested in Art Films and if you're a person that doesn't scare because some one naked on screen then it wouldn't hurt. But this film is great. Its ability to capture and effect the viewer is more effective than any films coming out now. And it being an almost silent film helps it being a foreign film. Almost no subtitles.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 ArtSep 12, 2009
Viewers should take heed of the director Tsai Ming-liang's creed. He creates art and not movies, and this certainly isn't a movie in the way we think of movies. This movie does tell a story, sort of. But the movie really is a series of little-dialoged vignettes interspaced with musical numbers, that may or may not have anything to do with the story.
The story is about a man (a seemingly unenthusiastic porn actor) and a woman who meet and have an affair during drought stricken Taiwan. There is very little spoken dialog throughout. It's definitely not your regular movie which moves along through speech and actions of the actors. Instead, we are shown scenes. Tsai Ming-liang has won numerous awards at film festivals and is widely acclaimed, so who I am to say whether this movie is good or not. I can only say that it is my personal opinion that I thought the musical numbers were great, but the vignettes were very slow. And considering that about half the vignettes were sex scenes, that's saying something.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Clearly not for just anyone, including me!! Bizarre at best with too much sex.Sep 11, 2009
I cannot describe this foreign art-house film, but I can say a few things. It is filled with blatant sex, graphic sex, boring sex, weird sex. The 2005 film is set in Taiwan where there is a water draught. Water bottles are everywhere, and includes watermelons, used as a sexual object. The film is satirical, but bizarre and one may not get all the satire or symbolism. Don't try to figure the plot, as there is none.
According to an interview in Asian cinema, Director Tsai Ming-liang said, "I am not interested in dialogue or telling a story. I'm not trying to put over a clear message. It is not important, what the film is trying to tell you - but what you feel about it. Think about, what you feel."
There is little dialogue here, and what I can gather is that a low budge porn star connects with a girlfriend. Some strange musical dance numbers are sprinkled into the film. These are coloful dance numbers, and some of the music is in the tune of 50's American popular hits. The lyrics to the musical numbers are present, but different from the American lyrics.
In conclusion, this has to go in my Listmania of Foreign Film Too Bizarre with way too much bizarre pornographic sex. The subtitles are clear and easy to read. Not for me, and many folks for that matter ....Rizzo
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