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The Hole
The Hole
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The Hole

The Hole

1998
Drama, Sci-fi
1h 35m
In the final days of the year 1999, most everyone in Taiwan has died. A strange plague has ravished the island. Supposedly spread by cockroaches, the disease sends its victims into a psychosis where they act like the insects. Eventually, they die. The Hole takes place in a crumbling apartment building. Its two protagonists live right above and below each other. The woman is on the lower floor, and the pipes above her apartment are leaking fiercely, threatening to destroy her food supply... (imdb)

Directed by:

Ming-liang Tsai

Screenwriter:

Pi-ying Yang, Ming-liang Tsai

Starring:

Kang-sheng Lee, Miao Tien, Kuei-Mei Yang, Lin Kun-huei, Hui-Chin Lin, Hsiang-Chu Tong

Genres:

Drama, Sci-fi, Musical, Fantasy

AKA:

Dong

Countries:

France, Taiwan

Language:

Mandarin
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The Hole

1998
Drama, Sci-fi
1h 35m
Your probable score
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer
Avg Percentile 69.57% from 503 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews Cast Collections Similar Stats Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

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magbMagb
Rated 08 May 2007
95
94th
The Hole reminds me of Eraserhead. Like Eraserhead, The Hole takes place in a weird, post-apocalyptic world with dilapidated buildings and constant ambient noise in the background, and the people living in it don't seem to take much notice of this fact. One could say that the "epidemic" is actually an epidemic of crippling emotional distance. The solution is holes -- holes that can pierce our emotional walls and connect the apartments of our hearts and minds.
Rated 08 May 2007
tds4aTds4a
Rated 18 Jun 2010
3
79th
Nothing happens, and it's the best kind of nothing.
Rated 18 Jun 2010
martintellerMartinTeller
Rated 23 Feb 2007
99
99th
My absolute favorite by Tsai. It has quite a David Lynch feel to it, but without as much obliqueness. It sort of tapdances at the edge of reality: the constant downpour, the mysterious cockroach disease, the glorious musical sequences, the trash tumbling down from the upper levels of the building. Although we never leave the building, we get a sense of the emptiness of the evacuated city. The film is hilarious and haunting, captivating and ultimately very moving.
Rated 23 Feb 2007
bownBown
Rated 17 Oct 2010
89
91st
Mysterious, bleak, hilarious and moving. It slowly turns from a strange study of a dilapidated wasteland to a tragic tale of missed opportunities and failed connections. The musical sequences were fantastic.
Rated 17 Oct 2010
lintonmyroxylintonmyroxy
Rated 26 Apr 2021
85
51st
My mom saw me watching this and asked "Are you enjoying this?" and then "What are your dreams like at night?". No, mom, I did not particularly enjoy this, and my dreams can't be much weirder than anyone else's
Rated 26 Apr 2021
rufamRufam
Rated 11 Jun 2014
65
42nd
"Dong" falls into the problematic category of 'concept-based films' -vehicles dedicated in the cold, static examination of an odd, original idea. The setting of "Dong" is indeed an ingenious and well-realized one -but once I adjusted to the disorienting atmosphere and pretty much 'got' the message, the film's slow pace became rather tiresome. I mean, I can appreciate the atmosphere and the symbolism and the creepy musical segments, but this just doesn't have enough meat for 90'.
Rated 11 Jun 2014
barthalenBarthalen
Rated 28 Sep 2009
67
47th
Before you have a general sense of what the movie is trying to do, it's already halfway done. The emotionally distant way in which The Hole is filmed starts to wear the viewer down after a short while, which is a great way to convey the misery and gloomy atmosphere. Still, the movie doesn't really help us sympathize with the main characters or flesh them out in a meaningful way. I get how it's about people having problems to connect, but I guess I was just hoping for a bit... more.
Rated 28 Sep 2009
alex_watkinsAlex Watkins
Rated 14 Jan 2020
4
70th
Tsai marries his patient, probing observation to a vaguely sci-fi/horror concept, as Taiwan has been ravaged by a plague and the remaining residents of a derelict high-rise struggle to survive. The primary tension is between a man whose burst pipe is leaking into the apartment of the woman below him, but this mostly just a stem from which the aimless plot freely branches off, in a series of bizarre, surreal, and theatrical encounters and set-pieces.
Rated 14 Jan 2020
ddrudgesd_drudges
Rated 11 Feb 2013
70
81st
Instead of the usual cliches, the virus epidemic and the ensuing desolation is used as a metaphor to emphasize the mental isolation of two lonely people. The hole between their apartment, although first seen as a vulnerability, is of course the only way to bring them together. The use of water in the film - as an enemy, as a friend, or just a background element - is mesmerizing. I didn't really care for the musical sequences but I still feel they were important for the pacing of the film.
Rated 11 Feb 2013
nunstranglernunstrangler
Rated 27 Aug 2009
43
16th
Originally conceived as an entry for a French TV series of end-of-the-millennium dramas, this award-winning film crosses several genres and might not be immediately accessible to most. If you like weird, drawn-out art films, this is for you.
Rated 27 Aug 2009
ottott
Rated 24 Aug 2023
80
78th
i'm determined to think here that a disease is not a metaphor, okay maybe crawling on the floor like a ungeheuers ungeziefer is a metaphor for being poor an alienated from society. but in a larger sense the possibility of an epidemic outbreak is just a social condition thats present in taiwan, not a metaphor for alienation but reality like alienation and class struggle are. pre-dancer in the dark in someway, probably an inspiration
Rated 24 Aug 2023
driscarpindriscarpin
Rated 17 May 2023
94
93rd
O buraco estreava há 25 anos no Festival de Cannes. Acabei de encontrar meu Tsai Ming-Liang favorito. Sempre gostava de seus filmes, mas nenhum antes tinha sido arrebatador como esse. Não sei se pelas lembranças da pandemia (acumular papel higiênico? Hahaha) ou pela inserção dos números musicais ou pela interação entre os protagonistas, só sei que foi maravilhoso. MKO.
Rated 17 May 2023
emptythoughtemptythought
Rated 11 Oct 2022
63
52nd
this is my cats favorite film, out of everything in my history on here. she watched everything but the third act with great intensity
Rated 11 Oct 2022
aflickeringAFlickering
Rated 17 Jan 2022
6
86th
i'm not the first to make keaton tsai comparisons, but this is basically tsai's feature length (sub)version of that once-lost keaton scene when he leaps into a hole and reemerges married with children.
Rated 17 Jan 2022
metismetis
Rated 06 Aug 2021
70
45th
7?
Rated 06 Aug 2021
lofisofilofisofi
Rated 25 Dec 2020
65
66th
watched this exactly two years ago and forgot to rate it. underwhelming; it left a 'hole' in me
Rated 25 Dec 2020
chengmingchengming
Rated 25 Dec 2018
75
77th
Fantastic setting and images, but the 90 minute runtime proves much too long for the limited material - so much so that even the musical numbers can't create momentum for the film. These musical numbers - as well as many other components - get reused to much greater success in The Wayward Cloud.
Rated 25 Dec 2018
peyrinpeyrin
Rated 01 Dec 2018
70
56th
The sweeping camera shots, sparse dialogue, and impeccable sound design come together to create the great paradox of crushing emptiness and loneliness in a very claustrophobic setting.
Rated 01 Dec 2018
wetwillieswetwillies
Rated 04 Jul 2016
95
93rd
The images of urban decay and physical/emotional ruin are compelling, evocative depictions of isolation, loneliness and personal frustration. There's a deep, all-encompassing feeling of desolation. Still, inside this fragmented environment there's something lively, joyous, sweet - the wordless romance, the shy and clumsy slapstick, the way it snaps into those dazzling musical numbers. In a way, it's a film built on beautiful contradiction.
Rated 04 Jul 2016
yesistastyyesistasty
Rated 08 Oct 2014
67
15th
Very drab and dull, with some deece tunes. It'll make you have to pee real bad.
Rated 08 Oct 2014
elviniselvinelviniselvin
Rated 13 Jul 2014
80
75th
İzmit, 12 Temmuz
Rated 13 Jul 2014
donquixoticdonquixotic
Rated 27 Apr 2014
30
17th
By the time it got to the third musical number I long since cared and gave up finally.
Rated 27 Apr 2014
joaorlazarojoaorlazaro
Rated 08 Oct 2013
35
3rd
The whole musical thing going on is really annoying for me.
Rated 08 Oct 2013
neonmanNeonman
Rated 15 Aug 2013
84
78th
Often quirky and unsettling and usually captivating, this tragicomedy (with appropriate musical interludes) shows the subtle and highly disgusting problems that arise in this close-knit somewhat post-apocalyptic setting. The ending is visually quite romantic.
Rated 15 Aug 2013
mkellinsmkellins
Rated 11 Feb 2013
70
76th
I was pleasantly surprised by this. I was expecting some kind of a zombie apocalypse horror movie. This was nothing like that. It's an inventive film about loneliness and the search for a human contact in a world emptied by a strange plague. The constant pouring rain and the musical scenes create a great, twisted atmosphere with nice touches of humor here and there.
Rated 11 Feb 2013
nepetaNepeta
Rated 18 Jan 2013
90
90th
An emotionally exhausting experience, but at the same time the film's ability to put a smile on my face was quite wonderful. Part of the reason is Tsai's marvellous ability to find the humour in completely believable human behaviour. The other reason is that it's a musical! In between the emotionally crushing scenes of these two characters living in filth and loneliness will come brightly coloured, energetic and really fun musical scenes.
Rated 18 Jan 2013
peaceanarchyPeaceAnarchy
Rated 20 Aug 2012
84
77th
Tsai's pacing is a bit tough for me, but for the most part it worked quite well. The languid atmosphere is very appropriate for this run down dystopian near future. There's not much dialogue, but if anything my biggest problem was the three singing sequences that didn't really fit the tone. The rest, a story of two neighbours with a hole between their apartments and water leakage was surprisingly captivating in its near wordless display of emotion, solitude and increasing despair.
Rated 20 Aug 2012
cat9mancat9man
Rated 30 Oct 2011
5
0th
Probably the worsrt film you will ever see
Rated 30 Oct 2011
slantmagSlantMag
Rated 20 Oct 2011
40
97th
"An illuminating, musical embrace for the ages." - Keith Uhlich
Rated 20 Oct 2011
worstcasesceworstcasesce
Rated 17 Mar 2011
1
0th
This is the wettest movie I've ever seen. I felt soggy afterwards. Otherwise, I don't know what to say about it. It's pretty damn weird but I gotta admit, I dug it. Score is not a grade.
Rated 17 Mar 2011
snallygastersnallygaster
Rated 17 Dec 2010
57
59th
Like Tsai's other films, the camerawork and editing are entrancing; personally I could watch Tsai's films all day even without the dialogue. The premise is also very interesting, although not really essential to the film. Unfortunately, this films seems to wear its message on its sleeve, and it seems to be handled so superficially that it was actually a distraction. I look forward to re-watching this, because I didn't expect this from a Tsai Ming-liang film.
Rated 17 Dec 2010
coheedCoheed
Rated 15 Nov 2010
90
90th
Possibly the least conventional science fiction virus movie in existence - with musical numbers, water, instant noodles and numerous scenes of silence and under the surface emotion - and all the better for it.
Rated 15 Nov 2010
coinquatroCoinQuatro
Rated 05 Oct 2010
80
89th
Gesundheit!
Rated 05 Oct 2010
kokoloKokolo
Rated 14 Jul 2010
95
98th
what this film has accomplished is to to to put this enormous space, empty space,this feeling of nothingness; and to condense it into one building. and what a superb atmosphere... and if it was not for humid hot summer right now. and watching this film without an air conditioner while the sweat is driping of of me. and all this clicking, I can`t stand it any more... i am becoming less and less defined as the days go on. and the reduction is inevitable.
Rated 14 Jul 2010
mercMerc
Rated 18 Jun 2010
85
92nd
a hermeneutic hotbed - if only Gregor Samsa had fashioned such an orifice
Rated 18 Jun 2010
qvtQVT
Rated 15 Jun 2009
5
8th
While it's better than Goodbye, Dragon Inn, it's not better by much. Instead of being in a movie theatre, it's in a building. A building of shitty movie productions, clearly.
Rated 15 Jun 2009
cinemahellcinema_hell
Rated 20 Jan 2009
85
75th
Way too minimalistic for my taste. I guess I just wasn't connected with the characters' emotional, desperate situation.
Rated 20 Jan 2009
tonytheponyTonythePony
Rated 20 Jan 2009
62
35th
Dystopian vision with some great ideas but flounders because it's essentially a 90 minute short film. Pacing is glacial with sparce dialogue, which would be fine if the main characters were engaging in the least. They are instead automatons stripped of all personality who, despite their plight, illicit only ambivalence. Musical numbers: bursts of repressed emotions? meh, they didn't work for me. The hole itself creates some nice moments - the ending is beautiful, but by then I just didn't care.
Rated 20 Jan 2009
dustydDustyd
Rated 17 Sep 2007
45
14th
not very good
Rated 17 Sep 2007

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