Back in 2020, I was attempting to review the movies on the Rotten Tomatoes list by the order that they appeared (separate from the muppet side-project, cause that needed to be dealt with all at once). It was because of this one, #85, that I gave up on that notion entirely because I could not find this movie anywhere. The Wayward Cloud wasn’t offered on any streaming sites unedited, I couldn’t pay to rent it, and I couldn’t buy it anywhere because the DVD was region locked. Even attempts and um… *acquiring* it online were futile because they did not contain English subtitles. Every time I would schedule out what movies I wanted to work on next, this was a uncompleted black spot in a sea of easily attainable media… that is until a few days ago when I found it on internet archive for free, god bless.
This is not the most bizarre musical movie I’ve ever watched (it’s pretty tame compared to Dancer in the Dark and The Lure), and to Oklahoma!’s credit, not the only one about pornography. It is unique in the fact that I’m pretty sure it’s the only one with a 10-minute real-time rape scene. I’m incredibly fascinated how this very quiet movie that features a lot of softcore porn shares a spot on the same list as 8 muppet-based movies, is all I’m saying.
The Wayward Cloud focuses on two protagonists, Hsiao-Kang and Shiang-chyi, who live in separate apartments of a shared building. In the opening scene, an unknown actress dressed as a nurse is being force-fed watermelon before getting railed by Hsiao-Kang on top of it. We discover, because of a legendary drought, that watermelons are cheaper than buying bottled water, so people are encouraged to eat or drink the fruit to hydrate themselves. The symbolism of the watermelon is pretty overt, as a television news program states that gifting this big red fruit means you’re wildly in love. Shiang-chyi is scarfing watermelon down in her living room alone, while Hsiao-Kang is literally fingering one on top of a moaning lady. We discover that Hsiao-Kang works as an actor in seemingly very low-budget porn films, so his passion is only faked for the benefit of the camera. He reveals how lonely he is with his situation through a lamenting love song.
Shiang-chyi discovers Hsiao-Kang asleep on a swing in the park, and after stealing his drinkable water she decides to wait for him to wake up so she can ask him if he’s still selling watches for money. Afterward, he assists her in removing a key of hers that has been stuck in the asphalt outside of their building, and once freed, the pavement gives way to a spring of water, representing the desire that has now been released. Her internal monologue reacts in a completely normal way, by interpreting this act of kindness as a declaration of love.
The musical numbers are a dramatic contrast to the rest of the movie, as they are colorful and surreal. The juxtaposition between the lived reality of the characters and their energetic inner monologue is really vast and jarring.
I’m not quite sure why this statue of Chiang Kai-shek gets all Shiang-chyi’s love and affection, unless it’s ironically, or to symbolize her giving everything to a man who’s literally giving nothing in return. Taiwan has been gradually moving the several statues they’ve erected of Chiang to a specific memorial garden in Cihu as their attitude toward the exiled military leader has changed. This one at the National Palace Museum has migrated locations since this movie came out, living in a much less conspicuous place outside of a different building.
When Hsiao-Kang goes back to Shiang-chyi’s apartment, he attempts to open a locked suitcase of hers while she gives him insane amounts of watermelon juice he ultimately pours out the window when her back is turned. They make a meal together, and we discover she is very bad at cooking, setting the greasy noodles on fire and attempting to douse it with water. The hot veggies they place on the noodles make them move in a very unsettling way.
I’m genuinely curious if they started a fire on purpose, because it sounds as if the director writes a very loose screenplay and a lot of shit is improvised.
When the two part later he doesn’t kiss her or anything. In fact, he manually presses her elevator button to send her on her way. Then she gets to lay in bed and listen to him have sex with someone else from the apartment upstairs. Honestly, I don’t know how more clear this guy could be that he’s not interested in her.
It’s impressive how absolutely unsexy they make the softcore porn look in this movie. It’s mechanical and awkward. The director himself describes sex as difficult and “rarely joyful”, which, I feel, says a lot about him and less about society in general. He believes filming sex this way exposes it for what it really is as opposed to how Hollywood makes it seem.
Because the pacing of this movie is so slow (this is on purpose, put a pin in it), here’s a rapid fire interactions list to keep this moving:
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- Hsiao-Kang climbs up a wall and Shiang-chyi force feeds him watermelon.
- Shiang-chyi proves to be the worst cook ever yet again by freeing a bunch of crabs in her house. After Hsiao-Kang comes to the rescue, they eat the crabs in such a disgusting manner that I’m forced to believe this is someone’s fetish.
- Hsiao-Kang smokes a cigarette from in-between Shiang-chyi’s toes before falling asleep under the dining room table. This is the first inkling that perhaps he does like her as he touches her legs in a comforting manner as opposed to his usual indifferent demeanor.
- The two protagonists go on a date, I think?
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- Hsiao-Kang avoids Shiang-chyi in the hallway because she’s wandering around pretending to be pregnant with a watermelon. Imagine you’re some random tenant and you hear someone screaming from the stairwell and you discover it’s some lady pretending to give birth to a fruit, istfg.
- Hsiao-Kang is having problems getting it up, so he imagines his co-star with a traffic cone bra pleading for him to get hard.
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- Hsiao-Kang and Shiang-chyi make out in the Adult Film section of a video rental place, and I am in my own personal hell because watching people kiss is the grossest thing ever to me.
- On their way home from gettin’ freaky in public, they walk around town with her standing on top of his feet.
The end of this movie is… something else. I was pretty much just letting this film happen to me up until this point. Like sure, it’s slow and a little strange, but whatever, it’s got to be someone’s jam. But then… but then.
Shiang-chyi finds one of the porn actresses passed out in the elevator, and instead of calling for help she drags her into her apartment. While this poor woman is laying passed out on the floor, Shiang-chyi starts eating watermelon while slowly realizing that one of the videos she rented features this mystery woman and Hsiao-Kang. Shiang-chyi finds one of Hsiao-Kang’s co-workers and they drag the actress up to his flat and try to rouse her. When that fails, the men take her clothes off and position her on the bed to film a movie anyway.
The climax of this film is the rape scene, where Shiang-chyi watches Hsiao-Kang film a video with his unconscious co-star, seemingly bearing his baggage to Shiang-chyi. This is perhaps a way for him to explain why he’s been so distant, or to reveal a part of his life he hasn’t overtly told her about. Shiang-chyi assists with the movie, moaning loudly to help Hsiao-Kang get off, and he rewards her by abruptly grabbing her face and making her swallow his cum, as if to say, here, now you can have all of me. Literally. She cries out of relief I’m assuming, and it’s awkward as fuck to watch. It’s also framed like we should be celebrating that these two have finally discovered and accepted each other, because the credits come in with a happy song, which I guess could be read as ironic? Maybe this whole thing is intended to be horrifying and not merely uncomfortable, but Shiang-chyi’s active participation in the act makes me think that it’s not meant to be read that way. And if that’s the case, I’m left wondering why we had to witness a rape for their mutual understanding to happen. Did the director think this was rape?
I tried to search for the directors intention from this but all I could find were reviews of this movie that described how the last scene is meaningful and touching like a bunch of people didn’t just rape a girl on camera.
The important story here isn’t necessarily the romance whatever the hell is happening between the two main characters. The director of this movie Tsai Ming-liang, is one of the standout auteurs of “Slow Cinema”, so the point is more about the vibes than the plot. There are a lot of shots in this movie of characters unceremoniously eating watermelon, staring at the ceiling, looting through garbage, walking through hallways, and they’re all designed to convey how lonely these characters are. He absolutely succeeds at this, as the great majority of this film is well-framed wide shots of Shiang-chyi existing alone in the world, rarely encountering other humans, and having no friends to speak of. Hsiao-Kang seems to want to be left alone, but is constantly pursued by this woman, and by nature of his job, begrudgingly performs sexual acts on camera. Tsai Ming-liang’s movies focus on this dichotomy between wanting to find someone to relate to while being comfortable being alone. The two protagonists are filmed with a wall dividing them in several scenes as if they want to connect, but are incapable of doing so.
Watermelons represent the passion one feels, and Shiang-chyi is constantly sloppily eating it, forcing its juice upon Hsiao-Kang who doesn’t want it, making out with the rind and pretending to give birth to it in an hallway. When she discovers the porn actress passed out in the elevator, when retrieving water from the fridge, a watermelon rolls out and cracks on the tiled floor, forcing her to eat it when she drags the woman inside her apartment. She gluttons herself in it, and only stops when she realizes that this actress has been fucking the man she’s been lusting after. Conversely, Hsiao-Kang only partakes in the watermelon in his or Shiang-chyi’s fantasies, as he must feel as if his current lifestyle prevents him from acting on any genuine feelings. It isn’t until the last scene that he is open to having a real human connection with someone. Y’know, directly after raping his costar for money.
But in being alone, it seems like both the protagonists completely disregard the wellbeing of those around them, since they’re singularly focused on themselves. Shiang-chyi hordes an insane amount of drinkable water to the point where she cannot store anything in her refrigerator and is forced to bathe with toilet water in her bathroom because her tub is filled with bottles. In a decidedly unchill move, Hsiao-Kang decides to bathe in the building’s water tower since his body is covered in watermelon juice and the taps are turned off, contaminating a considerably valuable and finite resource for his own personal comfort. I can only assume their treatment of the porn actress is only further evidence of their disconnect to humanity in general.
I’m not necessarily sure if we’re supposed to root for these two crazy kids to figure this shit out, because ultimately I left this movie feeling bewildered and slightly angry. I’m not writing off all slow cinema, but I’m not sure I’m interested in watching any more Tsai Min-liang films lest I’m confronted with another 3 minute shot of a woman crying with some dude’s cock in her mouth.
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