Martin Bradley "The Wayward Cloud" opens with a scene of sex with a watermelon though neither the melon nor the sex look particularly appetizing. We are in Taiwan and there's a heatwave which might explain the copious amounts of nudity as well as the watermelons if not the behavior of the characters. Ming-Liang Tsai's film, (it appears it follows on from earlier work but this is the first of his films I've seen), doesn't really have much of a plot and very little in the way of dialogue and what 'plot' there is doesn't really make a lot of sense, (the bloke who metamorphoses into a sea-creature in a large tank and breaks into song is only the first of several very camp musical numbers). Unfortunately this picture, which lasts close to two hours, is aimed very much at an art-house audience who like their sex movies to be vague and abstract rather than simply down and dirty, (even the money-shot is basically abstract). Of course, you could be forgiven for thinking that the very explicit sex scenes have, within them, a sense of comedy or at least are meant to be 'tongue-in-cheek', (no pun intended), and that the musical interludes are aimed at a largely gay audience. Either way, "The Wayward Cloud" isn't going to wow them in Middle America or down at the multiplexes but it's sufficiently pretentious and sufficiently weird to be at least interesting. I may have been perplexed but I was certainly never bored.

Monsieur_Arkadin The founder of the "new novel" and screenwriter for Last Year at Marienbad Alain Robbe-Grillet said: "A new form will always seem more or less an absence of any form at all, since it is unconsciously judged by reference to the consecrated forms." This is certainly true of the films of Tsai Ming-Liang, and The Wayward Cloud is one of his most daring attacks on traditional cinematic form yet. We follow two characters: Hsiao-kang (the same protagonist as in eight of Tsai's nine features. Acting as an "Antoine Doinel" for our modern age of isolation and loneliness) and Shiang-chyi as his would be lover. The two however, are doomed never to celebrate their love for each other fully. Our two protagonists never express themselves with words, and don't speak more than one sentence each throughout the film. Both sentences come when they see each other for the first time since Tsai's previous film What Time is it There? Tsai's work within the Contemporary Contemplative Cinema paradigm is essential, because he has elevated the process to be more than simply a rejection of the sheep-like adherence to standard narrative techniques, but also the best possible means of expression of the themes and philosophy he is interested in exploring. The events of The Wayward Cloud unfold the way they do because it's the only way they can unfold for them to have any meaning. The style is informed by the content of the film. The rejection of dialogue, the refusal to cut, the wariness of close- ups, the static "objective" camera informs our understanding of the themes. The entire film is about emptiness. The characters lives are empty, the decrepit building they live in is empty, the version of Taipei they live in is empty (even as the news story on t.v. hints at a larger population somewhere) the images they are framed in are empty, and the majority of the time they spend in the movie is empty. They are seen sleeping on park benches, laying on the floor, smoking cigarettes, walking down endless hallways, and taking long elevator rides. There are five scenes throughout the film which are not empty and all five of the scenes happen to be musical numbers. These numbers serve as a sort of internal monologue for our two protagonists, and then curiously for two minor characters who share a total of about 6 minutes of screen time and are Hsiao-kang's partners in two different porn shoots he works on. When the film shows its teeth in the disturbing final minutes, the audience is not prepared. With so much of the film revolving around the banality of existence in a lonely empty world, and at best the minor joys which come from things such as a cigarette or cooking live crabs, it is shocking for a major life event to actually take place. This allows for maximum reflexivity among the audience and also introduces a rare visceral element to the film. What once seemed cold, seems bright by comparison. The reading of the ending is something few people can agree on. The seemingly violent sexual contact is off-putting, but could be read as a joyful release for two characters who clearly belong together. However, the manner of their sexual joining is so distinctly not "correct." Their only sexual contact is through a hole in a wall, at once allowing them the connection they so desire, but reinforcing the disconnect which been present throughout the film.The bittersweet connection seems to have more bitter than sweet, bringing Hsiao-kang back to his lonely isolated contemporary world filled with empty frames and empty time. It is fitting that the final image is one of the most empty framing wise, and one of the longest feeling shots time-wise in the entire film. The Wayward Cloud is a film which both stands on it's own terms as a significant work within an important movement in the redefining of narrative cinema, and as a learning tool when it comes to understanding that redefinition. It's an important exploration of the narrative form which has held steady for much too long, and in recent years has seemed more than ever to be hitting the apex of possible regurgitations. Claims that cinema is dead are nothing new, but have been becoming louder and more vehement among film purists in recent years. They are silly. Cinema cannot be dead when films such as this exist as proof that narrative cinema has yet to be explored to its fullest potential. If we have yet to even fully explore narrative, then we certainly have quite a ways to go before cinema as a whole is used up. This film and indeed the CCC movement overall, are a beacon of hope for the medium.

twisted_and_derranged I must begin by saying I'm not familiar with director Ming-liang Tsai's previous work but this film worked for me just fine.I even feel tempted to check out his other ones. As other reviewers previously said, this movie has a certain mood. You either get into that mood or you don't. If you don't you'll think it's shite and won't even give it a chance. If you do then you'll experience a truly great movie that takes on an ever so discussed theme and gives it an original approach. The lack of dialogue,slow pace, the long still frames of the protagonists doing mundane things(be it porn movies or snatching bottles), the use of watermelons in sexual ways, the chemistry between the main characters, and the last(oh so shocking!) scene all add up to the overall beauty of this film. Don't expect a roller-coaster ride movie that will keep you at the edge of your seat. Don't expect to see a typical love story. Actually don't expect anything, that way you'll be much more open to what awaits you. I simply loved the analogies in this movie, the drought, the thirst etc. OK, I'll stop giving it away...This one it's not for everyone. It would be a 9/10 but since it's extremely underrated I'll give it a 10. Cheers.

jbchoi22 Tsai's Wayward Cloud offers a brilliant analysis of pornography and its place as a medium-cum-barrier to human love. His use of water vs. watermelon motif, which parallels the love vs. alienated sex paradigm, conveys a poignant and yet powerful metaphor of the drought we suffer from in our soul. The last scene where the male protagonist's penis is violently inserted into the female protagonist's mouth beautifully sublimates the vulgar titillation we seek from mechanized sex and porns, while restoring the true beauty of human physical unity. The use of musicals interwoven with the main narrative was also meticulously executed, altering the audience to the film's structural and thematic chasm that the director deliberately employed to separate love from lust, life force from libido, and fulfillment from satisfaction. Overall, a compelling analysis/critique of porn and its place in our social psychic and structure: much more sophisticated and profound than any other feminist! critics have offered.