千禧曼波 (aka Millennium Mambo) (2001)

Set in Taipei, an aimless bar hostess (Shu Qi) begins to move away from her abusive freeloader boyfriend (Tuan Chun Hao) toward a suave gangster (Jack Kao). But she can't quite seem to make a clean break. Directed by Hou Hsiao Hsien (FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI), the film takes us into a world of  unfocused drifters living in a world of bright neon colors and hypnotic techno dance beats. I'm not fond of movies about women as doormats who continually return to an abusive relationship. Eventually, the young girl makes tentative moves toward maturity and a healthier lifestyle but it's still difficult to sit through the pointlessness of her life as she wanders and struggles to find her own identity. Although set in the year it was made (2001), the movie is narrated from ten years later, 2011. Handsomely bathed in vivid colors by cinematographer Mark Lee Ping Bing (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE), it's an alluring looking film but I wish I could have connected with it more. With Doze Niu and Chen Yi Hsuan.