Lu Yi-ching Movies

Two very different artists struggle with similar problems about where to stay in this drama from Taiwan. Mozi (Mo Tzu-yi) is a respected musician whose career has gone into a slump; he's been dropped by his record company and is distributing his recordings by going from store to store as he tries to keep people interested in his work. Mozi's girl friend Kasey (Lu Chia-hsin) is also a musician, but her career is on the rise, and when her manager suggests she should move into a flat of her own, Mozi is stuck with an empty apartment from which he'll probably be evicted, while he lacks the money to go elsewhere. Meanwhile, Lin (Jack Kao) handcrafts houses out of paper that are used to contain the final remains of his customers. Lin's work is in great demand, with clients believing his model houses will bring them good luck in the hereafter. However, while Lin is making money, he opts not to buy the home where he's been a squatter for years, to the puzzlement of his wife Yue (Lu Yi-ching) -- a situation made all the more difficult by Lin's failing health. Yi Shi Zhi De (aka A Place Of One's Own) was the first feature film from director Lou Yi-an. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Three stories that share the theme of women coming to terms with homosexuality are brought together in this omnibus drama from Taiwanese filmmaker Zero Chou. In the first segment, May (Pai Chih-ying) is an eight-year-old girl whose older sister Jing (Serena Fang) makes money as a musician, despite the fact she's blind. Jing plays in a night club combo with Diego (Chao Yi-lan), and while May knows that her sister and Diego are close friends, she isn't certain why a woman like Diego insists on acting so masculine -- or why she sees Jing and Diego kissing passionately one night. In the second part, Lily (Lu Yi-ching) is an elderly woman who is suffering from Alzheimer's and is losing touch with her past. Lily is reminded of her childhood when she's unexpectedly reunited with her school friend Yen (Sam Wang), but he's changed a great deal since she last saw him -- he's a gay man who enjoys cross dressing and is living with AIDS. In the final chapter, we're reintroduced to Diego and learn of the sexual confusion of her adolescence, as she rebels against the changes in her body and develops a new understanding of herself when she finds love with a beautiful nightclub performer. Piao Lang Quigchun (aka Drifting Flowers) was an official entry at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A couple is torn by conflicting emotions in this drama from filmmaker Yao Hung-I. Jin (Oy Gin) and Mi (Nikki Shie) are two women living in Taiwan who have been lovers for some time; Jin is a singer in a rock band who suffers from severe mood swings and has been suffering from a fractured relationship with her mother (Lu Yi-ching), while Mi is the more sedate and level-headed of the couple. Jin and Mi have been together long enough that the initial spark has gone out of the relationship, even though they still care for one another, and the two have made an agreement that if one of them falls for someone else, the other will peacefully walk away from the romance. Hao (Tuan Chun-hao) in an old friend of Mi who has come home after a hitch in the military; after getting together, Mi finds herself deeply attracted to Hao, which echoes a recent visit to a fortune teller who predicted she would soon fall in love with a man. But is Mi certain enough in her feelings for Hao to break off her relationship with Jin, especially given Jin's recent instability? Ai Li Si De Jin Zi (aka Reflections) was produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien, who had previously worked with Yao Hung-I, frequently hiring Yao as his assistant director. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Tsui Hark (The Blade) adapted his massive martial arts epic Seven Swords (AKA Qi Jian) from Liang yu-Sheng's ravenously popular novel Seven Swordsmen from Mount Tian. The story opens in the 1660s, following the implementation of China's (Manchu) Qing dynasty. To quell possible nationalist uprisings, the emperor issues a decree forbidding the use of martial arts, and guarantees decapitation for anyone who violates that order. A class of bounty hunters quickly formed to enforce the law and collect 600 pieces of silver for each violator; the most massive and domineering of the warriors is the bald, muscular Fire-Wind (Sun Honglei), a bellicose and volatile creature who lives in an elephantine tentlike dwelling on a hill. This walking terror selects Martial Village, a hamlet in northwestern China, as his next assignment. Meanwhile, in Martial, two young adults, Wu Yuanyin (Charlie Young) and her ex-beau, Han Zhibang) rescue an old executioner, Fu Qingzhu (Lau Kar-leung) who foresees the coming wrath and acknowledges the necessity of pulling in the mythical 'Warriors of Mt. Tian' to fight Fire-Wind and his cronies. The four warriors summoned by Fu include Chu Zhaonan (Donnie Yen), and Yang Yunchong (Leon Lai), who dramatically increase the tension and bloodshed when the former develops a crush on one of Fire-wind's hostages, Green Pearl (Kim So-yeon) and decides to kidnap her - sending Fire-wind through the roof. The critically-worshipped Hark reportedly cut two versions of this film (including a 2 1/2 hour cut and a 3-hour cut) and demonstrated incredible confidence in Qi Jian by planning it as the initial installment in a massive series of multimedia sequels, including a 74-part television series, an online video game, comics, and five additional films. The picture itself testifies to this, with the setup for a sophomore installment in its conclusion. Qi Jian, however, did lackluster box office when it opened in the Far East in July 2005, making the follow-ups less than certain. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The city of Taipei becomes an alienating dystopia in this minimalist directorial debut from Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng. A grandmother (Lu Yi-chih) loses her grandson in a park and spends the remainder of the day searching for him. Meanwhile, a troubled teenager's grandfather similarly disappears. The two searchers wander the city until, eventually, their paths cross. The Missing shared the New Currents award with the Iranian film Tiny Snowflakes at the 2003 Pusan International Film Festival. ~ Tom Vick, All Movie Guide

The subjects of love, sex, and lust in modern-day Taiwan are given a surreal, kaleidoscopic treatment in Tsai Ming-Liang's experimental feature film. The Wayward Cloud contains no plot per se, but rather a succession of strange set pieces in which young lovers connect, disconnect, and attempt to find each other amidst a city water shortage. Consisting of nearly no dialogue, the film mixes the outrageous, the explicit, and the banal in a more radically experimental fashion than the director's previous efforts. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide