Face (2009 film)

2009 Taiwanese film

Face

Traditional Chinese| 臉
Simplified Chinese| 脸
Literal meaning| face
Hanyu Pinyin| liǎn
Directed by| Tsai Ming-liang
Written by| Tsai Ming-liang
Produced by| Jacques Bidou
Starring|

* Fanny Ardant
* Laetitia Casta
* Jean-Pierre Léaud
* Lee Kang-sheng

Cinematography| Liao Pen-jung
Edited by| Jacques Comets

Release date

* May 23, 2009 (2009-05-23) (Cannes)

Running time

| 138 minutes
Countries| Taiwan
France
Languages| Mandarin Chinese
French

Face (Chinese: 臉 Liǎn; French: Visage) is a 2009 Taiwanese-French film written and directed by Tsai Ming-liang.

## Plot

[edit]

Hsiao-Kang, a Taiwanese filmmaker, travels to France to shoot a film in the Louvre. As he is not fluent in French, the director encounters some difficulties. Then, he learns that his mother has died.

## Cast

[edit]

* Fanny Ardant \- The producer / Queen Herodias
* Laetitia Casta \- The star / Salomé
* Jean-Pierre Léaud \- Antoine / King Herode
* Lee Kang-sheng \- Hsiao-Kang, the director
* Lu Yi-ching \- Hsiao-Kang's mother
* Mathieu Amalric \- Man in the bushes
* Nathalie Baye
* Samuel Ganes
* Olivier Martinaud
* Jeanne Moreau
* François Rimbau
* Norman Atun
* Chen Shiang-chyi
* Chen Chao-jung

## Background

[edit]

Face was written and directed by Tsai Ming-liang.[1] It is set in the Louvre, as the museum had invited Tsai to make a film there. The Louvre contributed 775,000 euros, which was around 20 percent of the entire budget. The film is also inspired by director François Truffaut, and the cast includes several actors who worked with Truffaut.[2]

Face was described as a "meditation on the cinematic process." Like Tsai's other films, Face is about people who are incredibly alienated.[3]

## Reception

[edit]

Face has a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[1] It was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.[4] According to Eric Kohn of Indiewire, the film's story is "a bit difficult to follow". He added that "on a visual level, however, it's undoubtedly the prettiest movie in the festival's main competition."[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Visage (Face) (2009)". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
2. ^ Dupont, Joan. "The Louvre, Gardens to Boiler Room, Becomes a Filmmaker's Set". nytimes.com. December 26, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
3. ^ a b Kohn, Eric. "In Favor of Imagery: Tsai's 'Visage' Paints a Puzzling, Pretty Picture". indiewire.com. May 23, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
4. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Face". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-05-29.

## External links

[edit]

* Face at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Tsai Ming-liang

Features|

* Rebels of the Neon God (1992)
* Vive l'amour (1994)
* The River (1997)
* The Hole (1998)
* What Time Is It There? (2001)
* Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)
* The Wayward Cloud (2005)
* I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (2006)
* Face (2009)
* Stray Dogs (2013)
* Days (2020)

Other|

* The Skywalk Is Gone (2002)
* Journey to the West (2014)
* No No Sleep (2015)

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