Spider Lilies

This somewhat obscure and abstruse Taiwanese lesbian drama, directed by award winning director, Zero Chou, revolves around the life of seventeen year old on-line sex chat service provider, Jade (played by the cute and pretty Rainie Yang), who is being investigated by the CIB -who are having, in their employ, an agent who is attempting to entrap Jade by obtaining a covert recording of her providing illicit sexual services by inducing her to strip for him online, through the use of the username, Silence, who creates in her the mistaken impression that her childhood lesbian lover (who seduced her when she was ten), and wears the Spider Lily tattoo on her arms in allusion to the Spider Lily tattoo on her father's arm in connotation of the dissociative disorder that the Spider Lily had induced in the person of her brother - who since the death of her father had suffered from an amnesiac failure to recall all incidents revolving around the tragic earthquake that had claimed their father's life, who was buried by the earthquake with his tattooed arm protruding from the ground (which Takeko's tattoo master had her sever as a condition of her receiving his tutelage) - for whom she had had a crush since she was seduced, and, hence, craves to have the tattoo etched on her arm as the undying reminder of her one true love, only to encounter resistance from Takeko (who, by this time, had absolutely no recollection of Jade until Jade alludes to their childhood triste, and, in so doing, triggers the brief remembrance of things past (much as the little piece of Madeleine, once soaked in the cup of tea takes form and shape, and, in so doing, triggers all of Combray and its byways to take form and shape, all in this cup of tea) and, resultant of this, induces an intrigued Takeko to patronize her on-line sex service, and, in so doing, discovers herself being induced to feel some measure of subconscious desire - when, by revealing her tattoo on the live cam, wins herself what can be considered one of the best and most seductive striptease ever capture on the silver screen, causing her to relent and, in sympathy, agree to etch upon Jade's arms a less ominous emblem in the form of Tiger Lilies - which, though incompletely tattooed, nevertheless, serve to pleasure Jade with fantasies of engaging in sex with her lover, whom she is led to believe through the on-line communicae on her chat service by Silence (who had by now developed feelings for her, and, eventually, forewarns her of an impending raid by the CIB), that Takeko has fallen in love with her and has her best interest at heart, inducing her to serenade Takeko with the childhood lullaby which she used to sing Takeko in expressing her deep passion and undying love for Takeko and, consequentially, eliciting a trickle of tear and deep emotion in the latter, thereby, opening the floodgates of emotion that paves the way for Takeko to allow their passionate lesbian relationship to blossom - much like the unfolding of the petals of a Spider Lily.One of the best foreign language lesbian dramas you will ever have the pleasure of watching.Highly recommended.

I bought this dvd because I could not find it anywhere especially several years ago. It's a standard dvd and came in really good condition. It also has a few (humdrum) features but overall acceptable quality.

This is another foreign lesbian movie and is so wonderful to watch. Unless you understand how difficult it is to be Asian and Gay or Lesbian in Asia, this will open your eyes. I lived in Asia and had a lover and remember how one has to hide your private life.

I liked this movie. The acting was good. The only thing that was a bit confusing were the timeline changes, mainly when it was on the relationship between Jade&Takeko. They were sweethearts in the past but circumstance&Takeko's feelings of guilt separated them. Takeko had condemned herself to a life of misery&loneliness until Jade re-entered her life. I would not want those Spider Lilies put on me, especially if they are said to line the pathway to hell.

I love the movie ! This is something that you need to give a try and will not regret that you did so

Foreign language. Too busy reading the captions to try to enjoy the movie.

I'm a fan of independent cinema. I understand nuance and subtlety. There's a big difference, however, between nuance and lack of clarity. Unfortunately, this film is all about lack of clarity.The story played here involves a tattoo artist, a "web-girl", a semi-catatonic brother, a stuttering and pining cop, a possibly senile grandmother and a wanna-be tattoo'd tough guy. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Well, it's not. Mostly, this film is disjointed and confusing, at least twice introducing unresolved plot points. The script uses non-linear storytelling and flashbacks to excess. The only problem is, since the plot is played out poorly, it's very difficult to tell exactly where you are in the storyline at times.Our two main characters, Jade the "web-girl" (think online sex worker) and Takeko, the tattoo artist, seem vague with their own history, and though Jade is overwhelmed and thrilled to have discovered her first love working in the local tattoo salon, Takeko has other things on her mind and mostly comes off as detatched.While I can appreciate the attempt made here, ultimately the film fails on a very basic storytelling level. You never become attached to, or really care about, the characters.A Technical Note : While the subtitles are easy to read ( a big plus ), they are lacking in the actual translation. For example, "it is mere a tattoo". Also, the subtitles have a kind of grammatical error where every word that uses an apostrophe has an extending spacing to it. While this might not seem an issue, when you're reading subtitles, it slows you down significantly as words seem split in unfamiliar places.This US edition is NOT-RATED but had it gone through the MPAA rating criteria, I'd say it's a PG-13 at best ( for one quick shot of a dismembered body part ).I would suggest passing on this film. Rent it if you have interest, but think twice about making it a permanent part of your collection.

Love the movie! The disc was a good quality sort of disc. Overall I was very pleased with the purchase.