capsule : a science fiction allegory .
at the millennium a lethal contagious virus has hit taiwan .
officials have cut off water and other services to the center of contagion .
life there devolves and degenerates .
a man in an apartment has a hole in his floor and with it harasses his downstairs neighbor .
a slow but harrowing film to be missed if possible .
, low -1 ( -4 to +4 )
– the taiwan virus is ravaging taiwan and the part of the city that is the center of the contagion has been evacuated of anyone who will go .
one apartment building still houses people .
a woman , formerly an office worker , ( yang kuei-mei ) is tormented by her upstairs neighbor ( lee kang-sheng ) who has a hole cut by a plumber in the floor and is using it as a drain .
neighbor runs a small failing grocery store .
– to make things more depressing , it is constantly raining hard .
– upstairs neighbor vomits through , pours water , etc . a small and almost entirely one-sided war starts .
allegory about callousness and selfishness .
– woman is living on a pile of rolls of toilet tissue .
– incongruous songs added to show downstairs neighbors dreams .
these are the songs of popular taiwanese singer grace chang .
– apartment is falling apart .
wallpaper is separating from walls .
plumbing is failing .
– boredom shown by long cuts in which nothing happens .
a lot of film seems to be used up .
– this story might have been done much better as a ten-minute animated film .
– stars are considered to be great dramatic actors by one reviewer .
– this film seems longer at 95 minutes most two-hour films .