capsule : a science fiction allegory . 
at the millennium a lethal contagious virus has hit taiwan . 
officials have cut off water and other services to the center of contagion . 
life there devolves and degenerates . 
a man in an apartment has a hole in his floor and with it harasses his downstairs neighbor . 
a slow but harrowing film to be missed if possible . 
 , low -1 ( -4 to +4 ) 
- the taiwan virus is ravaging taiwan and the part of the city that is the center of the contagion has been evacuated of anyone who will go . 
one apartment building still houses people . 
a woman , formerly an office worker , ( yang kuei-mei ) is tormented by her upstairs neighbor ( lee kang-sheng ) who has a hole cut by a plumber in the floor and is using it as a drain . 
neighbor runs a small failing grocery store . 
- to make things more depressing , it is constantly raining hard . 
- upstairs neighbor vomits through , pours water , etc . a small and almost entirely one-sided war starts . 
allegory about callousness and selfishness . 
- woman is living on a pile of rolls of toilet tissue . 
- incongruous songs added to show downstairs neighbors dreams . 
these are the songs of popular taiwanese singer grace chang . 
- apartment is falling apart . 
wallpaper is separating from walls . 
plumbing is failing . 
- boredom shown by long cuts in which nothing happens . 
a lot of film seems to be used up . 
- this story might have been done much better as a ten-minute animated film . 
- stars are considered to be great dramatic actors by one reviewer . 
- this film seems longer at 95 minutes most two-hour films .