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Visage (Face) (2009)

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No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

audience

53

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 218

My Rating

Movie Info

A filmmaker is attempting to complete an ambitious project in the midst of a family tragedy in this self-referential drama from writer and director Tsai Ming-Liang. Hsaio-Kong (Lee Kang-Sheng) is a director from Taiwan who is soon to begin shooting his next picture, a stylized adaptation of Salome, in France, though first he has to help his elderly mother (Lu Yi-Ching) with some plumbing problems. Hsaio-Kong arrives in Paris to discover his producers have cast a well-known model with no acting

Unrated,

Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

Tsai Ming-Liang

Rézo Films

Cast

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All Critics (9) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (3) | Rotten (2) | DVD (2)

Tsai Ming-Liang pays vague tribute to Francois Truffaut throughout this slow, self-indulgent, but often shockingly beautiful art film.

February 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Too obscure for my taste.

April 8, 2013 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Impenetrable and confounding for all but the most acute cinephiles.

August 9, 2010 Full Review Source: sbs.com.au
sbs.com.au

To those of use who know and love his movies, it has a pervasive sense of the familiar... not at all revelatory or exciting. It's a fine movie, if you like this sort of thing (most people don't).

October 18, 2009 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy
Antagony & Ecstasy

Face will appeal exclusively to Tsai Ming-liang's devoted fans who find themselves in familiar territory here, but the rest of the audience may be baffled -- to say the least.

September 15, 2009 Full Review Source: Screen International
Screen International

Audience Reviews for Visage (Face)

I probably need to see this again after getting more acquainted with the Salome story. I can say that this is Tsai's most self-reflexive film, like he's channeling Rivette. It's like the flip side of the coin to What Time..., plus plenty of musical numbers(though they have a more concrete context here), and that only describes part of it. The mis en scene is crazy good, definitely his most accomplished thus far. The problem I had was that it felt too disconnected, with too many major characters, and the Amalric and Baye cameos were pretty pointless.
November 16, 2009
Face (also known as Visage for the French translation) would have significantly benefited from a Q & A session, which was cancelled because the director could not make it to Toronto. Speaking to him would have answered the two meaningful questions in the minds of audience members: âWhat just happened?â? and âDid they ever recapture that escaped stag?â? This film should not have been selected for the festival and should not have been green lit by a studio for numerous reasons.

Firstly, the film wastes excellent cinematography. Close shots where characters were reflected in mirrors or windows, long fixed shots that showed a character moving down the stairs or through a hallway, and shots that showed a character questioning themselves as the world, for example a highway interchange or the traffic along le Jardin des Tuileries, carries on around them. These camera angles were visually stunning and wasted in a film that will not get significant distribution anywhere.

Secondly, the director hammers the audience over the head with overt symbolism. Characters duct tape mirrors, chant rhymically in a cemetery, and share a bizarre love scene in a meat locker. The first scene depicts a failed meeting with the director and his producer in a coffee shop. They never connect, just as the film never connects with its goal to explore how one discovers their own identity.

There is also an attempt to break down the fourth wall and make Face self-referential. The main character is a Taiwanese director attempting to make a film in Paris. I think that this proved to be a distraction from the main themes of the film.

Lastly, the screenplay is poor. Some images are absurd, such as a kitchen sink accident reminiscent of the Welch House Flood of â(TM)99 or opera characters whose opulent costumes cannot fit in the tight spaces of the real world. I think that the point is that we are always struggling through life, trying to find ourselves. People may handle obstacles differently, perhaps by trying to hide or attempting to deny the truth, but they musts move forward regardless. In the end, humanity is driven by the passions that provide the most significant moments in life.

But I really have no idea. Maybe the director simply wanted to tell the world that canned tomatoes and plastic wrap are not used nearly enough as sexual devices.
August 7, 2012
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Foreign Titles

  • Face (Visage) (DE)
  • Face (Visage) (UK)
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