The Hole
Director: Tsai Ming-liang
Year Released: 1998
Rating: 3.0
Daring minimalism from the famed Taiwan-based director about not only bioterrorism, but also romance and paranoia in the new millennium. In an apartment complex being quarantined, a hole 'forms' in a young man's floor, allowing him to see the sad life of the woman living downstairs; this hole, surrounded by rubble, looks strangely like a vagina. The woman's 'real life' is juxtaposed with her 'fantasy life,' complete with musical numbers, as she dreams of glamour and romance; the man, on the other hand, struggles with alcoholism. Not for everyone - I cannot stress this point enough - but it comes together quite nicely for those with a great deal of patience.
