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The River

Directed by Tsai Ming-liang
Film Movement Classics
1997
116 Minutes
Taiwan
Mandarin
Drama, Romance, LGBTQIA2S+, Classics
Not Rated
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Hsiao-kang suffers from a mysterious illness that leaves his neck crooked. His parents, disconnected and distant, seek a cure in vain. The father finds solace in a gay sauna, while the mother works in a restaurant, escaping with her boyfriend. Hsiao-kang drifts through life, his emotions unspoken. When father and son unknowingly cross paths in the same sauna, their secrets are starkly revealed, and the mother realises the home's hidden damage is beyond repair. Director Tsai boldly explores ethical taboos and hidden desires; life is like the river of lust to flow forever.

Director & Cast

  • Director: Tsai Ming-liang
  • Starring: Lee Kang-sheng
  • Starring: Lu Yi-ching
  • Starring: Tien Miao
  • Starring: Ann Hui

Where to Watch

Trailer

Photos

Reviews

  • "Nobody pictures despair—and silence—like this marvelous Taiwanese filmmaker, who uses the same actors, often the same apartment location, in film after film."
    Susan Sontag, ArtForum
  • "The fact that I regard The River as a probable masterpiece doesn’t mean that I consider it fun or pleasant; terrifying and beautiful would be more appropriate adjectives. [T]hat it's the achieved work of a master I have little doubt."
    Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
  • "A painfully incisive portrait of the contemporary human condition."
    Arthur Lazere, CultureVulture
  • "He is one of those filmmakers whose visions, once encountered, are hard to shake, a rare director who seems, even at this late date, to be reinventing the medium and rediscovering the world. [The River] is an excellent introduction to his oblique narrative style, his favored themes and his careful, lyrical visual sensibility."
    A.O. Scott, The New York Times
  • "Tsai is so adept at pacing and mood, and so good at capturing a sense of yearning, that his film draws us in despite its unusually long takes and sparse cutting."
    Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
  • "A strange and disturbing yet fully engrossing film."
    Fiona Villella, Sense of Cinema
  • "A brilliant, multi-layered work by a true artist of the cinema."
    Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
  • "Tsai Ming-liang is the most extreme stylist in the new Taiwanese cinema, and The River... is his most extreme—and in some ways most audacious—movie."
    J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
Winner
Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize
Berlin Int'l. Film Festival
Winner
Silver Hugo - Jury Special Prize
Chicago Int'l. Film Festival
Winner
Special Jury Prize
Singapore Int'l. Film Festival
Winner
Best Actor
Singapore Int'l. Film Festival
Nominated
Best Feature Film
Golden Horse Film Festival
Nominated
Best Leading Actor
Golden Horse Film Festival
Nominated
Best Supporting Actress
Golden Horse Film Festival