Vive L'Amour

Static shots linger for what seems like an eternity in Vive L'Amour, yet if you glance away, you might miss a gesture or an unspoken thought that conveys a world of meaning. Set in Taipei, Taiwan, the film follows the separate but colliding worlds of three people: sexy real-estate agent May (Yang Kuei-Mei), her street-merchant lover Ah-jong (Chen Chao-Jung), and a suicidal gay man. When May and Ah-jong meet to have sex in an empty apartment building, they don't know they're being watched. Winner of the Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, the film is loaded with humor and beauty. At one point, the gay man's loneliness drives him to passionately kiss a melon. Thanks to director Tsai Ming-Liang's wisely objective stance, the scene is both funny and compassionate. Highly recommended. (L. Russo)