minor spoilersneed any further proof that tsai ming liang rank among the most original and provocative filmmaker work anywhere today . see this film . work from slight variation of a theme run through most of his work and the hole represent a study in alienation and loneliness in this case between a man and woman who be upstairs or downstairs neighbor and how varied structure ( real or psychological ) of modernity wall people off from one another . here and the woman ( the downstairs neighbor ) attempt to endure a her apartment be flood by a prodigious leak from upstairs . a plumber attempt to locate the source of the problem and then disappears after create a large hole in the floor . already isolated and desperate ( both character be among the few resident of a housing project who haven not flee in advance of a mysterious and near apocalyptic epidemic ) . the hole link the two apartment function first a yet another in a long line of indignity and but soon begin to take on a significance of near mythic proportion . tsai sense of humor and and sense of cinematic history be display with a bit more overtness than usual a the woman occasional daydream revolve around her upstairs neighbor be visualize a musical number ( set to the music of grace chang ) which explode from the screen in brief bit of sensualistic and surreal romance and humor quite reminiscent of the big screen penny from heaven . and for all of the ennui and alienation on display here and tsai skewering of late 90 pre millennial tension be funny and absurd and and give this film a very appealing strageness . the final scene be extraordinary . meanwhile tsai in typical fashion subvert most of the usual expectation or preconception westerner bring to asian cinema with a nonchalant and casually reveal directness and focusing on both the absurdist tendency of the human mind and and the most absolute of mundanity . there an utter and nonchalant demystification of almost everything about his character and sidestep backstory or most cultural signifier ( which do amplify the isolation of the character ) and make the hole and his other film rather disorient and but also always fascinate and insightful .