4 August 2014

The Hole (Taiwan, 1998)

A strange disease starts to affect people in Taiwan just before the year 2000. The authorities order everyone to evacuate, but some tenants of an apartment building stay put, including a shop owner who lives by himself. One day, a plumber goes to the shop owner's apartment to check the pipes. The plumber drills a small hole in the floor, which comes down through the ceiling of another apartment. The hole never gets repaired, and this leads to some tension between the shop owner and the woman who lives below him. 

I hope you're the kind of person that can handle a film with a slow pace, because Tsai Ming-liang's (Goodbye, Dragon Inn, Vive l'Amour) The Hole sure is taking its sweet time convincing you that this film is indeed amazing. Don't worry, it is amazing, but it may take a while before you know it. Imagine the opposite (ok, almost) of a Hollywood blockbuster with enormous explosions and a huge cast, then throw out the script and keep the dialogue down to a minimum. A great film, if you have the patience for it. 


Genre: Drama

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