Millennium Mambo

Vicky is a young woman in Taipei who works nights at a nightclub. She is involved with Hao-Hao, a jealous and unemployed boyfriend who monitors her constantly, going through her phone and her belongings and questioning where she has been. Unable to bear his suspicion and his violence, she leaves him and takes shelter with Jack, an older man involved in organized crime who is known for helping those in need, even when his generosity creates difficulties for him. A connection develops between Vicky and Jack that could lead to something closer or settle into friendship. Hou Hsiao-hsien directs, working from a screenplay by Chu Tien-wen, who also produced alongside Éric Heumann.

The film belongs to the period between Hou's Flowers of Shanghai and his later work, and it is the fourth of the six features listed among those he directed. Shu Qi plays Vicky, with Jack Kao as Jack, Duan Chun-hao as Hao-Hao, Doze Niu Cheng-Tse, Jun Takeuchi and Yi-Hsuan Chen in supporting roles. It is a Taiwanese and French co-production running just over an hour and three quarters.

Released in late 2001, the film drew a critics' rating of 7.8 out of 10 from 38 reviews, placing it above the audience scores, where it holds 7 out of 10 on IMDb from around 8,300 votes and the same 7 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 265 votes. Those figures indicate a well-regarded film with a modest but steady following.