I can never look at watermelons the same way again.

It's definitely flawed and doesn't come together as well as some of his other films (especially its prequel, What Time Is It There), but I love so much about it; the hilarious musical sequences, Hsiao-Kang's porno career and the watermelons. I echo FFD in saying that it could've been Tsai's masterpiece. My jaw still drops whenever I see that mirrored pagoda and the umbrellas.

I nearly collapsed from boredom.

The themes (obsessions, really) - watermelon, drought, porn - combine to give this an amazingly languid, sticky, sickly atmosphere. The heat and thirst drift right through the screen, positing the musical numbers as fever dreams, and for the most part (especially the lizard number, but not the bathroom one, which felt incongruous) they really advance the film and characters. The porn is truly skewed and hilarious, a perfect juxtaposition to the slow, tentative build between the wonderful leads.

"The theme would be interesting except that there's no focus or consistency. Notorious for its shocking and confusing pornographic ending."

"Tsai uses the vernacular of pornography against itself: every image is empty, obvious, posed." - Keith Uhlich

Don't really know what to say.

An avant-garde porn comedy--with virtually no dialogue and musical numbers in between the scenes. Not sure what it all means, but it was fun.

Lacks some of the emotional impact of other films of Tsai's, but it's very funny, very peculiar and as always Tsai captures human behaviour so beautifully and truthfully. The musical sequences are incredibly entertaining and work surprisingly well alongside the slower more introspective scenes that make up most of the film.

Pornographic Grease.

hmmm, yeah! the decade's best musical romance!

My least favorite Tsai film. Too much use of fairly obvious symbols that removes much of the mystery and poetry I've come to expect from him.

This is Tsai's most hilarious work, going beyond his usual brand of deadpan comedy. However, this also turns out to be the one drawback. Tsai goes a little bit too far over the top and at times the goofiness feels forced. It's a shame, because in a lot of ways this could considered his masterpiece. It's the culmination of all his work up to that point, the water/watermelon metaphors are fascinating, the musical sequences are beautiful, and the climax is shocking without being gratuitous.

As with Goodbye Dragon Inn, I couldn't quite connect with the events of The Wayward Cloud. There were many great sequences, but it didn't coalesce into anything that could hold my attention. I respect and commend Tsai for always doing exactly what he wants to do, but him and me are not always on the same page.

Maybe it's not that bad.. I don't know.. I know that I hated it though.

Hot and nasty all at once, Tsai Ming-liang's latest is a blend of hardcore porn, wordless interplay and Bollywood homage.

Too slow, but melon fingering and cheesy songs were cool.

My least favorite Tsai. The musical bits just don't quite work, and the film as a whole lacks the subtlety of Tsai's other films.

Bizarre and audacious. Love it.