{{Short description|2005 film by Tsai Ming-liang}} {{Infobox film | name = The Wayward Cloud | image = The_Wayward_Cloud_Poster.jpg | caption = Promotional release poster | director = Tsai Ming-liang | producer = Bruno Pésery | writer = Tsai Ming-liang | starring = Lee Kang-sheng<br />Chen Shiang-chyi | cinematography = Liao Pen-jung | editing = Chen Sheng-chang | distributor = 20th Century Fox | released = {{Film date|2005|03|18}} | runtime = 112 minutes | country = Taiwan | language = Mandarin | budget = | music = | native_name = {{Infobox Chinese/Chinese|child=yes|hide=no|header=none| s = 天边一朵云 | t = 天邊一朵雲 | p = tiānbiān yī duǒ yún | l = one cloud on the horizon}} }} '''''The Wayward Cloud''''' is a 2005 Taiwanese film directed by Tsai Ming-liang and starring Lee Kang-sheng and Chen Shiang-chyi.
==Plot== There is a water shortage in Taiwan, and watermelons are abundant. Television programs teach various water-saving methods and encourage the drinking of watermelon juice instead of water. Hsiao-kang, a pornographic actor, films sex scenes with watermelons and water. Shiang-chyi is a woman who lives nearby.
One day, while Shiang-chyi is out collecting water bottles, she sees watermelons in a river and takes a watermelon. She passes Hsiao-kang sleeping on a bench and uses his water bottle to wash her watermelon. She sits down on the bench across from him. He wakes up, and they realize that they know each other from when he was a watch salesman. She does not know that he now works in porn. The two start a relationship. She feeds him watermelon, they cook food together, and he smokes on the floor under her table. They go to a video store and make out in the adult film section.
Shiang-chyi finds an unconscious porn actress in an elevator. She helps a porn crew member take her to a room where they are filming. Hsiao-kang is there, and she is upset to see him working in porn. The crew films Hsiao-kang raping the unconscious woman, and Shiang-chyi watches them. As Hsiao-kang climaxes, he pulls out of the unconscious woman and pushes his penis inside Shiang-chyi's mouth.
==Cast== *Lee Kang-sheng as Hsiao-kang *Chen Shiang-chyi as Shiang-chyi *Lu Yi-ching as Porn actress *Yang Kuei-mei as Porn actress *Sumomo Yozakura as Porn actress
==Production== left|thumb|Bridge of Light, where some scenes of the film were shot. This was the sequel to one of Tsai's previous films, ''What Time Is It There?'' ''The Wayward Cloud'' was filmed in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It was shot in various landmark locations in the area, including Dragon and Tiger Pagodas and Love River.
==Release== The film grossed more than NT$20 million in its theatrical release in Taiwan;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/06/04/2003257869 |title=Taichung establishes new documentary film archive |publisher=Taipei Times |date=2012-01-22 |accessdate=2012-01-29}}</ref> it was a big commercial achievement for the Taiwan film industry since most Taiwan films' ticket sales totaled under NT$1 million at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/03/25/2003247750 |title=Pop Stop |publisher=Taipei Times |date=2012-01-22 |accessdate=2012-01-29}}</ref> It has a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 27 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.96/10. The site's consensus reads: "''The Wayward Cloud'' may baffle more literally minded viewers, but its surreal pleasures will resonate with fans of thoroughly unique cinema."<ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_wayward_cloud_2005/ "The Wayward Cloud (2005)"]. rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 27 June 2019.</ref> The film was Taiwan's official entry for the 78th Academy Awards in the foreign-language category. It was released on DVD by Strand Home Video in 2008.<ref>[http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-wayward-cloud-v323483/releases "The Wayward Cloud Releases"]. allmovie.com. Retrieved 3 February 2013.</ref>
==Awards== *55th Berlin International Film Festival (2005) - Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution<ref>[https://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/2005/03_preistr_ger_2005/03_Preistraeger_2005.html Berlinale. Archive. Prizes and honours 2005]. Retrieved 26 January 2019</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|0445760}}
{{Tsai Ming-liang}} {{Taiwanese submissions for the Academy Award}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wayward Cloud, The}} Category:2005 films Category:2005 comedy-drama films Category:2000s avant-garde and experimental films Category:2000s erotic drama films Category:2000s musical comedy-drama films Category:Films about pornography Category:Films directed by Tsai Ming-liang Category:Films set in Kaohsiung Category:Films with screenplays by Tsai Ming-liang Category:2005 Mandarin-language films Category:Taiwanese musical comedy-drama films Category:Films about rape Category:Films about food and drink Category:Films about water scarcity Category:Taiwanese black comedy films Category:2005 black comedy films Category:2005 independent films Category:Sexuality in Taiwan Category:Pornography in Asia Category:2005 musical films Category:Films that won the Outstanding Artistic Contribution Silver Bear Category:Alfred Bauer Prize winners Category:2005 erotic films