Vive L'Amour

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Vive L'Amour

Released Sep 14, 1994

1h 58m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

85%

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13 Reviews

81%

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1,000+ Ratings

The sophomore feature from Tsai Ming-liang (REBELS OF THE NEON GOD; GOODBYE, DRAGON INN) finds the acclaimed master of Taiwan's Second New Wave demonstrating a confident new cinematic voice. VIVE L'AMOUR follows three characters unknowingly sharing a supposedly empty Taipei apartment. The beautiful realtor May Lin (Yang Kuei-mei) brings her lover Ah-jung (Chen Chao-jung) to a vacant unit she has on the market, unaware that it is secretly being occupied by the suicidal funeral salesman Hsiao-kang (Lee Kang-sheng). The three cross paths in a series of precisely staged, tragicomic erotic encounters, but despite their physical proximity, they find themselves no closer to a personal connection. Featuring an intoxicating mix of Antonioni-esque longing and surprising deadpan humor, VIVE L'AMOUR catapulted Tsai to the top of the international filmmaking world and earned him the prestigious Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice International Film Festival.

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Jake Cole

Slant Magazine

As funny as Vive L’Amour can be, it’s the intense stillness that grips the characters that defines the film.

Jun 19, 2022

Full Review

Peter Canavese

Celluloid Dreams

An almost wordless drama and a social satire about the disconnectedness and loneliness of modern living.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 28, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

While I'm generally a sucker for movies about the connections made (or missed) by lonely people -- monumental works like Wild Strawberries, The Accidental Tourist, Three Colors: Blue, and Lost in Translation -- this one left me a bit chilly.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 26, 2022

Full Review

David Bax

Battleship Pretension

...Tsais cinematic style is not subjects to the peaks and valleys of au courant tastes. Its timeless.

Mar 30, 2022

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Tsai Ming-liang's second feature film established him as a major talent to watch, and along with Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang one of the key figures of the Taiwanese New Wave.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 28, 2022

Full Review

Lee Jutton

Film Inquiry

Even when they are placed in the most absurd situations, Tsai Ming-liangs characters convey feelings so incredibly universal that its impossible to not relate to them. Vive LAmour is one of the best and brightest examples of this.

Mar 16, 2022

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M H.

Extremely boring. Much too long.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/21/25

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S R

At least this was an original film. Showing three people living in a space without some of them knowing it. Based around a Taiwanese woman Realtor, this was a at times hilarious film, and at others it was sad. There was minimal dialogue and it was slow at times. I saw it since it was on the NYT 1000 movies list. SLC DVD.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/01/25

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steve c

I guess this film is supposed to depict the emptiness of the fornicators' life. RIP those forever alone,

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

It's a nearly wordless story about three people adrift in the urban landscape. They all seem to have some sort of hustle, two out of the three are squatters, and all seem to bounce off one another without any real connection. It's all very well done, top to bottom, but there are few high or low points. The long sobbing scene at the end seemed unnecessary, though I think it was intended as some sort of catharsis for the audience in case you didn't know what to make of what you just watched.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Audience Member

Perspicacious; & most probably the most perspicuous piece by Ming-Liang Tsai.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

3 lonely souls in Taipei found themselves unknowingly sharing a single apartment. Vive L'Amour is an anti-film in itself that the dialogues were minimal and many long single shots were used to present the characters in a scrutinizing way. Enjoyable if you can withstand slow paced films.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

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Ming-liang Tsai

Director

Kuei-Mei Yang

May Lin

Lee Kang-sheng

Hsiao-kang

Chao-jung Chen

Ah-jung

Ming-liang Tsai

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Vive L'Amour: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The sophomore feature from Tsai Ming-liang (REBELS OF THE NEON GOD; GOODBYE, DRAGON INN) finds the acclaimed master of Taiwan's Second New Wave demonstrating a confident new cinematic voice. VIVE L'AMOUR follows three characters unknowingly sharing a supposedly empty Taipei apartment. The beautiful realtor May Lin (Yang Kuei-mei) brings her lover Ah-jung (Chen Chao-jung) to a vacant unit she has on the market, unaware that it is secretly being occupied by the suicidal funeral salesman Hsiao-kang (Lee Kang-sheng). The three cross paths in a series of precisely staged, tragicomic erotic encounters, but despite their physical proximity, they find themselves no closer to a personal connection. Featuring an intoxicating mix of Antonioni-esque longing and surprising deadpan humor, VIVE L'AMOUR catapulted Tsai to the top of the international filmmaking world and earned him the prestigious Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice International Film Festival.

Director: Ming-liang Tsai
Producer: Li-Kong Hsu, Hu-Pin Chung
Screenwriter: Ming-liang Tsai, Yi-Chun Tsai, Pi-ying Yang
Distributor: Strand Releasing
Production Co: Central Motion Pictures Corporation
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 14, 1994, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Mar 18, 2022
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 15, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.2K
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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