Cafe Lumiere (侯孝賢 movie 隨想, series #1)

In the past 2 weeks I've started a 侯孝賢 marathon, largely out of boredom, and watched through all of his films that are in my possession (風櫃來的人, 冬冬的假期, 同年往事, 戀戀風塵, 戲夢人生, 悲情城市, 海上花, 最好的時光, and Cafe Lumiere). This post is part of a series of posts that are aim to say something about these films . These are not meant to movie reviews, for reviews are meant to be read by people who hasn't seen the film, has the intention of seeing it, and are in the position to be convince/deter as such. No, these are meant simply to be documentions of feeling; thoughts, emotions at that particular moment, when one is "hit", when the meeting of minds strikes spark.


Cafe Lumiere (台譯：咖啡時光) is a film directed by 侯孝賢. Set in modern Tokyo, the film tells the story of Yoko, a freelance writer witha strong interest in Taiwanese contemporary art. Even without knowing who the director is, one can immediately sense Hou's presence in the first scene, with Yoko hanging her clothes and camera positioned, as in of Hou's films, from a distance, stantionery, much like a silent observer. There is essentially no plot, no intro, no climax, no resolution; everythin flows in a free, nonchalant way, like a mountain stream in the fall. So, my friend, you'd ask, why do I spend time talking about this movie? Strangely, dull as it is, I found a certain sense of resonance with the film. It's like a meditative poetry - slow, graceful, tinged with melancholy for past bygone, hesitant present, and unknown future. These people led small, comparably insignifigant lives, yet beauty resides in their everyday passing. Hajime, Yoko's friend and who is clearly in love with her, is putting forth an elaborate computer project about the city's train system. What is it about train lines that are so fascinating? Because they cross, but never touching.

As usual, I'd like to end the post with a poem. So let's see..... 范仲淹的蘇幕遮好了. 此詞目觸秋色, 描寫著范文正公因景觸情的心事. 前段寫景, '翠' '碧' 兩字道出了秋來蕭瑟. '山映斜陽天接水' 及後兩句是超妙之筆; 山水無言, 卻又包含了千言萬語. 後段說情, 將故國之思及羈旅之痛緊緊扣住. '愁腸' , '相思淚' 一句, 更是款款深情:

蘇幕遮 范仲淹

碧雲天
黃葉地
秋色連波
波上寒煙翠
山映斜陽天接水
芳草無情
更在斜陽外

暗鄉魂
追旅思
夜夜除非
好夢留人睡
明月樓高休獨倚
酒入愁腸
化作相思淚