A review of master filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien's (侯孝賢) film "Millennium Mambo (千禧曼波)" by American film critic J. Hoberman was published in The New York Times on Dec. 23. Hoberman praised the film to be "not only the most pop movie the great Taiwanese filmmaker has ever made but, intermittently, among the most astonishingly beautiful."
"Millennium Mambo," which premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and won the Technical Grand Prize, is restored in 4K and screening at Metrograph in Manhattan as well as on its online platform. Cinematographer of the movie Mark Lee Ping-Bing (李屏賓), who had just shot "In the Mood for Love (花樣年華)" by Wong Kar Wai (王家衛) captured the vibrant and pulsating colors of Taipei with a sensual approach.
Hoberman was a senior film critic at the weekly newspaper "The Village Voice (村聲)," and was also part of the selection committee of the New York Film Festival. He published multiple film-related books and lectured on film at Harvard, New York University, and the Cooper Union.
In collaboration with Taipei Cultural Center in New York (駐紐約臺北文化中心), Metrograph is hosting a series titled "Taipei Stories" until Jan. 7, 2023. A selection of films set in Taipei including Hou's "Millenium Mambo," "Daughter of the Nile (尼羅河女兒)," Edward Yang's (楊德昌) "YI Yi (一一)," "A Confucian Confusion (獨立時代)," "Taipei Story (青梅竹馬)," Tsai Ming-liang's (蔡明亮) "Vive l'Amour (愛情萬歲)," "Rebels of the Neon God (青少年哪吒)," Ang Lee's (李安) "Eat Drink Man Woman (飲食男女)," and documentary "Flowers of Taipei (光陰的故事)" by Hsieh Chin-ling (謝慶鈴) is available.
Click here to read the digital version of the review on The New York Times website.