The film starts with a dreamy and mesmerizing shot in slow motion of a young woman walking down a long freeway overpass corridor. In the background plays the beat of a somewhat nostalgic piece of deep house trance. The woman's name is Vicky (played by the eye appealing Shu Qi) and - in voice over- she tells us her story.

On the surface not a lot happens in the film; It is all moods, tectures and techno sounds which play in the background of a young woman's life as she breaks up with her slightly psychotic boyfriend, goes to Japan for a visty, meets an older guy and again goes to Japan to be with him for a while. But - as in many of Hsiao-hsien's films - mood, tone and texture are what drive the story and it is a marvel to behold if you are patient with it.

Hsiao-hsien is a master of combining form and content in his storytelling. Often he frames scenes from a distance but here he gets up close to the action letting us feel the immediacy of each scene. The music score too is good because in this case Vicky's life is a repetetive one that seems to be going at the same pace - much like techno music.

As simple as the plot seems Hsiao-hsien mixes up the realism element with something like a post-modern feel to give complex overtones that can confuse the viewer. The thematic line however stays it's course; Vicky is young and has a difficult time leaving behind her boyfriend because it also means leaving behind the only life she knows. She finds a way out but it may not work.

Millennium Mambo is not an altogether great film and anyone expecting a recognizable film-like story will be hard pressed to stay with it. However, the film is a very captivating one and if you like films that push the film form in interesting and unique directions then it is worth a look.

The film is in Taiwanese with English subtitles.

Video:
The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and looks excellent. The average bit rate is between 7.5 and 9.5 mb/s. At times the image appears a bit soft but the colors look good. The film was shot by Mark Lee Ping-bin who also has shot part of Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love films.

Audio:
The film's soundtrack is virtually wall to wall trance beat and sounds very good.

Extras:
There is an eight minute interview with director Hsiao-hsien in which he talks about many things including the actress, his stylistic choices and his use of music. There are also 13 minutes of deleted scenes which are all mood pieces but if they were actually in the film they would change one of the plot points. There are also two trailers, filmographies and weblinks.

Final Thoughts:
The first time I saw Millennium Mambo I was expecting something different so I was a bit impatient. This time I really enjoyed the mood and pace as well as the story. It reminded me a bit of a Wong Kar-wai film - although it should be noted that Hou Hsiao-hsien has been perfecting his style since the early 1980's. The DVD looks and sounds great.