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, being released by Film Movement Classics in a stunning 2K restoration available on Blu-ray for the first time ever in North America, 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 — a disarmingly funny masterclass in cinematic economy –catapulted Tsai to the top of the international filmmaking world and earned him the prestigious Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice International Film Festival.

For thoughts on Vive L’Amour, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/LdTzEUEuG24?t=2944]

Video Quality

Vive L’Amour comes to Blu-Ray with a new digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original 1.85:1 derived from a terrific 2K digital restoration from the original camera negative. The presentation is practically pristine with nary a blemish throughout most of the runtime. There are a few minute specks of print damage, but overall clarity and detail is mighty impressive. The shots on the city streets are packed with little details in the production design that are easily noticeable thanks to this transfer. The picture loses a slight amount of crispness in long shots, but this barely registers as an issue. Colors are well saturated in a visually splendid way when it comes to certain articles of clothing and lighting. Skin tones are natural and consistent with distinct facial features easily noticeable in closeup. Black levels hold up well with very little in the way of crush, and digital noise does not present as an issue here. This presentation is simply stunning. Film Movement Classics has rescued a cinematic gem.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a strong DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original Mandarin with optional English subtitles. Environmental sounds such as urban noises or weather effects are rendered well alongside everything else. The music in the film sounds great throughout, as it underscores the emotions of the characters. There is never a moment where it threatens to minimize the already sparse dialogue, and the track maintains a good balance so that it comes through clearly. There does not seem to be any majorly noticeable instances of age-related wear and tear. Film Movement Classics has given this film the perfectly preserved, faithful audio presentation it deserves.

Special Features

This Blu-Ray set includes a multi-page booklet featuring the essay “It’ll End In Tears” by film critic Nick Pinkerton. The essay provides a great analysis of the themes of the story, composition and more. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Tsai Ming-Liang Interview: A 29-minute interview with the director in which he discusses his relationship with the film, the state of the Taiwanese film industry at the time of its creation, how it fits into his career at large, the themes he tackled within the narrative, replacing the lead actress a week before shooting, certain disagreements he had during production, the filming of key scenes, the release and legacy of the film and more. The audio of this is often pretty poor, picking up a lot of ambient noise such as creaking doors and rain.

Trailers: The new minute-and-a-half trailer for Vive L’Amour is presented here which does a nice job of selling the film. There are also trailers provided for Pushing Hands, Shanghai Triad and Center Stage.

Final Thoughts

Vive L’Amour is an engaging character-driven narrative from Tsai Ming-Liang which deftly balances three storylines with equal care. The film is reserved and steeped in mood rather than expository moments, which gives the work an almost dreamy quality that works really well. The trio of lead performances are very impressive, especially Yang Kuei-mei, who will leave you devastated by the end of the film. Film Movement Classics has released a Blu-Ray that features a wonderful A/V presentation and a fun interview. Those interested in exploring more Taiwanese cinema should not pass this up. Recommended

Vive L’Amour is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Film Movement Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.