''Face'' ( ''Liǎn''; ) is a 2009 Taiwanese-French film written and directed by

Tsai Ming-liang Tsai Ming-liang (; born 27 October 1957) is a Malaysian-Taiwanese filmmaker. Tsai has written and directed 11 feature films, many short films, and television films. He is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese ...

Plot

Hsiao-Kang, a Taiwanese filmmaker, travels to France to shoot a film in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. As he is not fluent in French, the director encounters some difficulties. Then, he learns that his mother has died.

Cast

Fanny Ardant Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (born 22 March 1949) is a French actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumières Award. Early life Ardant was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, ...

- The producer / Queen Herodias *

Laetitia Casta Laetitia Marie Laure Casta (; born 11 May 1978)FMD profile
Retrieved 4 December 2009. is a ...

- The star / Salomé *

Jean-Pierre Léaud Jean-Pierre Léaud, ComM (; born 28 May 1944) is a French actor, known for playing Antoine Doinel in François Truffaut's series of films about that character, beginning with ''The 400 Blows'' (1959). He also worked several times with Jean-Luc ...

- Antoine / King Herode *

Lee Kang-sheng Lee Kang-sheng () (born 21 October 1968) is a Taiwanese actor, film director and screenwriter. He has appeared in all of Tsai Ming-liang's feature films. Lee's directorial efforts include ''The Missing'' in 2003 and '' Help Me Eros'' in 2007. ...

- Hsiao-Kang, the director *

Lu Yi-ching Lu Yi-ching (born 23 October 1958) is a Taiwanese actress. She has appeared in several films directed by Tsai Ming-liang, such as '' What Time Is It There?'' and ''The Wayward Cloud'', and films by Cheng Wen-tang, including '' Blue Cha Cha''. ...

- Hsiao-Kang's mother *

Mathieu Amalric Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film '' Quantum of Solace'', in which he played the lead villain, Steven Spielberg's ''Munich'', Wes An ...

- Man in the bushes *

Nathalie Baye Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for '' Every Man for Himself'' ...

* Samuel Ganes * Olivier Martinaud * Jeanne Moreau * François Rimbau * Norman Atun *

Chen Shiang-chyi Chen Shiang-chyi (; born 27 November 1969) is a Taiwanese actress. She has appeared in most of Tsai Ming-liang's feature films. Career When she was studying at the Taipei National University of the Arts, Chen was spotted by Edward Yang when he ...

Chen Chao-jung Chen Chao-jung, also known as Aaron Chen, is a Taiwanese actor and businessman. He is known for starring in several of Tsai Ming-liang's films, including '' Rebels of the Neon God'' and '' Vive L'Amour''. He is also considered a household na ...

Background

''Face'' was written and directed by Tsai Ming-liang."Visage (Face) (2009)"
rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved December 15, 2015. It is set in the Louvre, as the museum had invited Tsai to make a film there. The Louvre contributed 775,000 euros, which was around 20 percent of the entire budget. The film is also inspired by director François Truffaut, and the cast includes several actors who worked with Truffaut.Dupont, Joan
"The Louvre, Gardens to Boiler Room, Becomes a Filmmaker's Set"
nytimes.com. December 26, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2015. ''Face'' was described as a "meditation on the cinematic process." Like Tsai's other films, ''Face'' is about people who are incredibly alienated.Kohn, Eric
"In Favor of Imagery: Tsai's 'Visage' Paints a Puzzling, Pretty Picture"
indiewire.com. May 23, 2009. Retrieved December 15, 2015.

Reception

''Face'' has a 60% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. It was nominated for the

Golden Palm The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

2009 Cannes Film Festival The 62nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May to 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. Twenty films from thirteen countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 23 M ...

. According to Eric Kohn of

Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

, the film's story is "a bit difficult to follow". He added that "on a visual level, however, it's undoubtedly the prettiest movie in the festival's main competition."

References

External links

* 2009 films 2000s musical comedy films 2009 multilingual films Chinese-language films Films directed by Tsai Ming-liang 2000s French-language films Taiwanese musical comedy films Taiwanese multilingual films Films with screenplays by Tsai Ming-liang French musical comedy films French multilingual films Films set in Paris 2009 comedy films 2000s French films {{Taiwan-film-stub