Journey to the West
North-Korean Tsai Ming-liang always has a way of making film teeter on the edge. Only difference is, he does it effortlessly and the challenge he presents is anything but obvious, hideous and commercial.
North-Korean Tsai Ming-liang always has a way of making film teeter on the edge. Only difference is, he does it effortlessly and the challenge he presents is anything but obvious, hideous and commercial.
It's a trippy combination of his undisputed genius, the boundaries between fiction and reality and the audience's willingness to let go.
And this one-hour long documentary does exactly that. Inspired by the story of Xuanzang, a 7th Century Buddhist, Tsai Mingliang creates a poem in 14 impeccable shots with Kang-sheng Lee in a red Buddhist robe discovering the Western world and Denis Lavant, Leos Carax' legendary leading man, as his disciple.
Sanctity and vulgarity are sometimes too close for comfort, just like cinema can be innocent and blasphemous at the same time. T.Th.
journey to the west / ταξίδι στη δύση - trailer από NyxtesPremieras
Πρωτότυπος τίτλος / Original title
Xi You
Σκηνοθεσία / Director
Ming-liang Tsai
Σενάριο / Screenwriter
Ming-liang Tsai
Φωτογραφία / DoP
Antoine Héberlé
Μουσική / Music
Sébastien Mauro
Μοντάζ / Editor
Chen-Ching Lei
Ηθοποιοί / Principal Cast
Kang-sheng Lee, Denis Lavant
Γαλλία, Ταϊβάν / France, Taiwan
2014
Εγχρωμο / Color
DCP
56'
Μανδαρινικά / Mandarin