Intoxicating, daring, and beautifully photographed Ming-Liang Tsai's latest The Wayward Cloud (2005) is indeed one naughty adventure of a film offering plenty of food for thought. Composed as part-modern-musical-part-silent-feature Tsai's film enters a territory where the term "bizarre" certainly implies a different meaning. Populated with extravagant porn stars, strangely-looking dancers, and jaw-dropping musical performances, The Wayward Cloud conveys a world so mesmerizing you would be hard-pressed to find another film from recent years with so much creativity, both explicit and tender, and unparalleled imagination.

What really strikes as unusual in this award-wining feature is the uncanny degree of eroticism which fans of Tsai will find refreshing. There is an obvious intent in The Wayward Cloud to be as revealing as possible yet following this predominantly silent story of odd romance one is likely to experience what a Tarkovsky film would reveal- a universe of hidden messages. Unlike the works of the great Russian maestro, however, Tsai's film, I am convinced, will prove to be too indecent and perhaps too confusing for those unfamiliar with the creative aura of this unique Taiwanese director.

While watching the bizarre romance between Hsiao-Kang and Shiang-Chyi I could not stop thinking about Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). Believe it or not if one could envision a modern take on the classic French musical retold with the wicked sense of composition which we have come to expect from David Lynch then I suppose The Wayward Cloud will be the logical result.

Co-produced by France and Taiwan The Wayward Cloud was originally intended as a "shocking biopic" in which a devastated grandmother follows her grandson through the slippery roads of the adult business. Due to some cast difficulties Tsai was forced to change the structure of the story and the film evolved into a musical with one of the most controversial final scenes I have seen in recent Asian productions. Regardless, The Wayward Cloud remains amongst the most daring and original films I saw last year proving that Ming-Liang Tsai is a force to be reckoned with.

Final Words: Bearing in mind that Ming-Liang Tsai and his works usually split audiences right down the middle I think that it is hard to recommend or dismiss The Wayward Cloud without warning viewers what they are about to experience. With this said, I found Ming-Liang Tsai's latest production to be beautiful, daring, and bursting with originality…something we see less and less in contemporary mainstream cinema. The musical acts, the decors, and performances were all of exceptionally high-quality.