The Wayward Cloud

CinemaSerfAug 2024

3.5

Well I knew water melon was a super-food, but I didn't realise it was quite as versatile as this! Indeed, it's multi-functionality prevails throughout much of this bizarre hybrid of comedy, musical and straightforward porn. It's all set in a Taiwan where it hasn't rained for ages and where these fruit are in short supply. That's where we meet two people who live in the same block of flats. "Hsiao-Kang" (Kang-sheng lee) seems a bit obsessed with collecting plastic water bottles, "Shiang-chyi" (Shiang-chyi Chen) used to sell watches for a living but now has discovered a much more pleasurable way to make a dollar. The surrealist elements of the plot emerge rather quickly when he meticulously folds his clothes before going swimming in the building's water tank - where his body adapts to his new environment and we are serenaded by a musical number that might make even the most accomplished of synchronised swimmers struggle. He comes to her aid when she's lost her keys and that starts a series of escapades that sees a great deal of sex - so we at least get a glimpse into his photographic techniques flagrante delicto style, whilst the characters bond in quite an entertainingly gentle, if entirely superficial, fashion. It won't be for everyone this, especially as the denouement pushes boundaries that I found quite ridiculously funny, but which could easily offend. Is it a romance? Well probably not, more a lust-fest with people who might just have the best approach not just to sex, but to the whole business of sex and to the prudish attitudes that so often accompany it. It's probably twenty minutes too long, and there is more than a little repetition here - but if you are up for something with no holds (or holes) barred, then this might raise a smile or two.