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Der Fluß
He Lui Ein Film von Wang Xiaoshuai
Taiwan
1997,
Länge 115 Min., Format 35 mm, 1:1.85 Farbe
Regie. . . . . . . . . . . . Tsai Ming-liang
Buch . . . . . . . . . . . . Tsai Ming-liang , Yang Pi-ying,
Tsai Yi-chun
Kamera . . . . . . . . . . Liao Peng-jung
Schnitt. . . . . . . . . . . Chen Sheng-chang
Produktion . . . . . . . . . . . Wang Feng
Ausstattung. . . . . . . Central Motion Picture Corporation |
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In einer Wohnung in Taipeh lebt Xiao-kang mit
seinen Eltern. Viel haben sie nicht gemeinsam, alle drei gehen
ihre eigenen Wege. Sein Vater arbeitet nicht mehr und verbringt seine
Zeit damit, in den unzähligen Saunas der Stadt jungen Männern nachzuspüren.
In den schmalen, kaum beleuchteten Räumen sucht er Trost und jagt
einer Illusion von Freundschaft hinterher. Was er findet, sind flüchtige
Kontakte. Xiao-kangs Mutter ist die Fahrstuhlführerin eines Restaurants.
Für sie dreht sich alles darum, das Essen für Mann und Sohn, aber
auch für ihren Liebhaber auf den Tisch zu bringen. Ihr Geliebter handelt
mit Porno-Videos und ist oft unterwegs.
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Die Liebe zwischen
den Eltern ist seit langem erloschen. Sie teilen längst
nicht mehr dasselbe Bett und besprechen nur noch das Nötigste.
Zufällig trifft Xiao-kang eine alte Freundin wieder. Xian-chi,
die inzwischen Produktionsleiterin einer Filmcrew geworden ist,
lädt ihn zu einem Besuch am Drehort ein. Xiao-kang folgt ihrer
Aufforderung, und es stellt sich heraus, daß dringend ein Komparse
benötigt wird; jemand, der bereit ist, sich im Fluß treiben
zu lassen.
Obwohl Xiao-kang schon der Gedanke abstößt, sich in das völlig
verschmutzte Gewässer zu begeben, läßt er sich schließlich von
der Regisseurin überreden. Unmittelbar nach dem Dreh überkommen
ihn heftige Schmerzen, die vom Nacken auszugehen scheinen. Doch
schon bald breiten sie sich über seinen ganzen Körper aus und
greifen auch seinen Kopf an. |
Es beginnt eine Odyssee zu zahlreichen Ärzten und Heilern.
Niemand kann ihm helfen. Dann stellt sich heraus, daß die Decke im
Zimmer des Vaters undicht ist. Es tropft und tropft, nicht einmal
der gerufene Klempner kann die Ursache ausfindig machen. Xiao-kangs
Zustand verschlechtert sich. Auf der Suche nach einem Wunderheiler
reisen Vater und Sohn gemeinsam in den Süden. Nachdem sie ein Hotel
gefunden haben, begibt sich der Vater auf die Suche nach einer Sauna.
Auch Xiao-kang sucht eine Sauna auf, und zufällig begegnet er dort
seinem Vater. Zu Hause nimmt sich die Mutter vor, die Quelle des Lecks
ausfindig zu machen. Während es draußen gewittert und stürmt, bricht
sie die leerstehende Wohnung über ihrer eigenen auf. ...
An
Interview with TSAI MING-LIANG |
CHEN: THE RIVER is your third film. The way
it is constructed makes it look a lot like a sequel of REBELS OF THE
NEON GOD?
TSAI: My films map the joumey through life of one character,
Xiao-kang. Personally, I would rather see it as a sequel of Vive L
'amour. The River projects the growth and chronicles the experience
of this one character. In each of my three films, Xiao-kang confronts
new problems and experiences new mood shifts. I consider all three
Xiao-kang 's films.
CHEN: But you 've also resurrected two characters, father and
mother (played by Miao Tien and Lu Hsiao-ling, respectively), from
REBELS. Construction-wise, I think it precedes The River.
TSAI: This time I set out to play up the family element. When
I outlined a background study for VIVE characters, I meant to give
Xiao-kang a home, which could very well be the one illustrated in
REBELS, a home he hardly ever visits, a home he definitely detests.
In The River, family element resurfaces. He harbors no love for his
family. He has no intention to go home. He only does it because he
is terribly sick, and once he is there, he is trapped. You can say
that he is caught by a dilemma similar to his father's. The old man
likes to hang out in places like gay sauna. The leak is just one more
incentive that drives him away from home. Now, come think about it,
Xiao-kang's mother doesn 't seem to like her home very much, either.
The apartment that houses the family serves merely as a symbol. The
River focuses on the family and probes into its problems to see what
have happened. What drives Xiao-kang away from his home, where he
is forced to return and confronts many ghosts of his past and present.
CHEN: Looming big and imposing in The River, as well as REBELS
and VIVE, is a metropolis, Taipei in this case. I remembered when
you first told me the story, Tamsui River (a river bordering northern
part of Taipei) plays a key role. This element is all but disappears
by the time you finished the film. Tell me a little more about how
you developed the screenplay?
TSAI: Early on, I was going to tell the story, in part, with
a documentary style. It was meant to magnify the symbolic meanings
of the polluted river. Life is like a river. The further we travel
down the river of life, we face more and more dilemmas coming from
a more deteriorating environment. But, I don't want to make it into
a film about environment protection . . The inspiration of The River
came from All Corners of the Sea, a TV drama I did years ago. There
was this one scene, an extra was shoved into a river by one child
actor. He accidentally swallowed some water, and got sick for a couple
of days. A real-life story. I left the scene on the editing floor.
The extra, a school buddy of mine, was really pissed. And since, strange
as it is, I have had this compelling urge to base a film on this simple
story. All my films invariably focus on social issues, scrutinizing
many changes sprouted out at us because of economical prosperity and
environmental degradation. The River is it, and so are REBELS and
VIVE . I have always wanted to probe deeper into the roots of humanity.
While shooting The River, I kept reminding myself to probe into the
deeper, the darker half of ourselves. We don't always live happily
ever after. Look around, our city is growing fast. Materialism boosts
human greed to an unglorious height. We have everything we ever wanted,
yet there is something lurking in the dark to keep us from being really
happy. There is one scene in this film that, no matter how hard I
have tried, I can't write it off or edit it out. A very early shot
of father whiling away in a dark sauna suite. It is an echo of the
river. If life is like a river, a part of it will always be darkly
swirling and unfantomly deep. There will always be some dark and damp
corners for the father to coop up. These are the images I want.
CHEN: Water in your films carries loads or
message. Is it a symbol or sensuality?
TSAI: Water doesn't necessarily stand for sensuality. Different
people interpret it differently. It could also mean disasters, or
life itself. Water in REBELS stands for multilevel of feeling. It
may flow freely. It may be stagnant. You need it so badly, yet are
sometimes in awe of it.
Water in The River stands for desires. It overflows, causing troubles.
The leak happens at the same time Xiao-kang taken ill. It corners
both father and son and forces them to confront and solve their problems.The
father and son, though acting like total strangers, are chips from
the same block. The young man played by Chen Chao-jung was posted
as an intruder. All three take to looking into mirror. The mirror
image brings out the similarity in these three characters .
The strange neck problem of Xiao-kang is not triggered by his dip
in the dirty river water. It is a projection of his rebellion. Psychologically,
Xiao-kang rejects the water. Next room, his father doesn't reject
the water. The old man merely sets up a barrier to block off the water.
Xiao-kang doesn't let his neck problem stop his day-dream like drifting.
He keeps moving around until he arrives at the last scene and opens
up the window. This character is created to serves different purposes
in each of my films. He kissed Chen Chao-jung in VIVE, opens a window
in The River. There are hopes behind a kiss, an open window.
CHEN: This character Xiao-kang, is it a projection or you?
TSAI: This film is very complicated. Every character in this
film is a projection of me. I wrote a little bit of me into each of
them. I like all of them. I let them cry a little, wander off a little.
In the final scene, Xiao-kang is made to walk away from the camera
and then come back. I want you to sense that there is still some hope
in this character. I like this character very much .
(by Rachel Chen, translated by Jean Yeh)
HAUPTROLLEN
UND IHRE DARSTELLER |
Xiao-kang . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lee Kang-sheng
Vater . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miao Tien
Mutter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lu Hsiao-ling
Junger Mann . . . . . . . . . .Chen Chao-jung
Xiao-kangs Liebschaft. . . . . . . . . . Chen Shiang-chyi
Geliebter der Mutter . . . . . . . . . . . . Lu Shiao-lin
Regisseurin . . . . . . . . . . . Anne Hui (als sie selbst)
Verleih: Peripher - Filmverleih im fsk Kino Segitzdamm 2 - 10969 Berlin
Tsai
Ming-liang Biografie |
Tsai Ming-liang Biografie
Geboren am 27.10.1957 in Ku Ching, Malaysia. Studium an der
Theater- und Filmfakultät der Universität Taiwans. Arbeitete
als Produzent und Regisseur am Theater, als Autor und Regisseur
für das Fernsehen. Nach mehreren Drehbüchern seit 1992 mit
den Spielfilmen REBEL OF THE NEON GODS und VIVE L'AMOUR auch
international erfolgreich.
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