The Hole
(Dong)

On the eve of the 21^st century, Taiwan falls prey to a mysterious epidemic and torrential rain. In two apartments, one above the other, a man and a woman are brought together when repairs to a leak leaves a gaping hole in the ceiling that separates them? Setting the action of The Hole in December 1999, Tsai-Ming Liang plays on a science-fiction note by giving the film an imminence that has no perspective, closed in on itself and on the solitude encircling the characters. Although the hole first facilitates the man’s dominating voyeurism, it also opens up a passage that abolishes the wall of indifference. The impromptu musical comedy songs give the woman the opportunity to persuade her neighbour to dance, and finally overcome solitude and desolation. MFM