If one reads about film regularly, one is bound to come upon the Taiwanese name Hou Hsiao-hsien sooner or later. Some American critics chose it for one of the best pictures of 1998 and 1999, based on its film festival appearances only.
Some critics like to be esoteric and choose films simply for their difficulty.
I've been haunted by this film since I saw it a second time in December of 1999, and I admit that part of it is the knowledge that I may never see it again. It contains an artistry, beauty, restraint, and patience that perhaps only Stanley Kubrick, Max Ophuls, or Kenji Mizoguchi possessed. It is a difficult film, though, and multiple viewings and incredible patience are necessary. The setting is a brothel in 1880's Shanghai. Made up of long, widescreen shots that track slowly from side to side, the film takes in whole conversations at once.