Visage (Face) (2009)
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60% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
53% of users liked it
(218 ratings)
A filmmaker is attempting to complete an ambitious project in the midst of a family tragedy in this self-referential drama from writer and director Tsai Ming-Liang. Hsaio-Kong (Lee Kang-Sheng) is a director from Taiwan who is soon to begin shooting his next picture, a stylized adaptation of Salome,… More A filmmaker is attempting to complete an ambitious project in the midst of a family tragedy in this self-referential drama from writer and director Tsai Ming-Liang. Hsaio-Kong (Lee Kang-Sheng) is a director from Taiwan who is soon to begin shooting his next picture, a stylized adaptation of Salome, in France, though first he has to help his elderly mother (Lu Yi-Ching) with some plumbing problems. Hsaio-Kong arrives in Paris to discover his producers have cast a well-known model with no acting experience (Laetitia Casta) in the leading role, which adds to the challenge of working in a language in which he's not fluent and having a leading man (Jean-Pierre Leaud) who seems to have lost his memory. Hsaio-Kong's troubles with the shoot are at once exacerbated and made insignificant when he learns of the death of his mother. Featuring guest appearances from Fanny Ardant, Nathalie Baye and Jeanne Moreau, Face was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ming-liang Tsai
- Written By
- Tsai Ming-Liang
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
- In Theaters
- May 23, 2009 Wide
- Studio
- Rézo Films
Critic Reviews
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J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Tsai Ming-Liang pays vague tribute to Francois Truffaut throughout this slow, self-indulgent, but often shockingly beautiful art film.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Too obscure for my taste.
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Simon Foster, sbs.com.au
Impenetrable and confounding for all but the most acute cinephiles.
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Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
To those of use who know and love his movies, it has a pervasive sense of the familiar... not at all revelatory or exciting. It's a fine movie, if you like this sort of thing (most people don't).
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Dan Fainaru, Screen International
Face will appeal exclusively to Tsai Ming-liang's devoted fans who find themselves in familiar territory here, but the rest of the audience may be baffled -- to say the least.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Fanny Ardant
as La Productrice et la Reine Hérodias, La...
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Laetitia Casta
as La Star et Salomé, La Star et Salomé, L...
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Jean-Pierre Léaud
as Antoine et le roi Hérode, Antoine et le...
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Kang-sheng Lee
as Le Réalisateur, Le Réalisateur, Le Ral...
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Yi-Ching Lu
as La Mère, La Mère, La Mre
