Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- surreal
- melancholic
- deadpan
- arthouse film night
- taiwanese cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly recognize an audacious and visually inventive blend of slow cinema, musical fantasy, erotic provocation, and dark comedy, though its extreme formal and sexual choices divide viewers.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Fantasy musical numbers punctuate the characters' mundane routines and erotic encounters.
Hsiao-Kang and Shiang-chyi live in the same building yet struggle to establish meaningful contact.
Watermelons become juice, food, a social offering, and an aphrodisiac during the drought.
Hsiao-Kang's porn work is juxtaposed with aimless domestic behavior and deadpan comic situations.
Films like The Wayward Cloud, and why
Vive L'Amour
shared slow cinema, erotic alienation, surreal humor, and urban loneliness
What Time Is It There?
shared Taiwanese New Wave sensibility, deadpan comedy, sexual estrangement, and austere urban spaces
The Happiness of the Katakuris
shared transgressive musical form, explicit sexuality, stylized spectacle, and emotional disconnection
In the Realm of the Senses
shared surreal eroticism, melancholic absurdity, and provocative formal experimentation
Movie Details
- Director
- Tsai Ming-liang
- Release Date
- 2005-03-25
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (133)
Cast
- Lee Kang-sheng
- Chen Shiang-Chyi
- Lu Yi-ching
- Yang Kuei-mei
- Sumomo Yozakura
- Lam Fai-Kan
- Siu Wun-Man
- Shu-Mei Hung
- Huan-Wen Hsiao
- Hui-Xun Lin
Common questions
- What is The Wayward Cloud about?
- During a drought-stricken Taiwan, two lonely neighbors circle one another through deadpan routines, explicit performance, and surreal musical desire.
- What is The Wayward Cloud like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Wayward Cloud as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Wayward Cloud violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Wayward Cloud.
- What did critics think of The Wayward Cloud?
- Critics broadly recognize an audacious and visually inventive blend of slow cinema, musical fantasy, erotic provocation, and dark comedy, though its extreme formal and sexual choices divide viewers.
- Which films are like The Wayward Cloud?
- Films with a similar feel include Vive L'Amour, What Time Is It There?, The Happiness of the Katakuris, and In the Realm of the Senses.
- How long is The Wayward Cloud?
- The Wayward Cloud runs 114 minutes.
