Film

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Stylistically Innovative and Thematically Bold

·May 14, 2022·3 min read

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a triumph. The film can be categorized as “Asian American film,” but it is much more than that—Everything Everywhere All at Once is bold, innovative, and high-concept, while managing to engage with personal themes Read More

A Portrait of Youth on the Precipice

English Film

·April 26, 2022·4 min read

Although there have been several short fiction films about the 2019 Hong Kong protests, such as “Night is Young” and “Lost Pearl,” May You Stay Forever Young (少年) is perhaps the first full-length fiction film to address this tumultuous time in recent Hong Kong history. Given increasing censorship in Hong Kong, as with protest documentary Revolution of Our Times, May You Stay Forever Young could only see nationwide theatrical release in Taiwan. The film was in the running for "Best New Director" and "Best Editing" at the 58th Golden Horse Awards. Though it won neither, it did win the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema award at the Golden Horse Film Festival in 2021 Read More

The Many Repetitions of Hong Kong History

English Film

·April 22, 2022·2 min read

There are few words fit to describe Blue Island, apart from “masterpiece.” The film stands out as an example of its genre, while also managing to be highly powerful and personal Read More

Sound, Image, and Religious Experience

English Film

·April 19, 2022·1 min read

“Shunyata” sets high ambitions, with a frame narrative suggesting religious or spiritual undertones. Likewise, the film aims to dazzle through sound and image. Consequently, it demands concentration in order to mine out meaning Read More

A Miao Church Choir Thrust into the Spotlight

English Film

·April 16, 2022·2 min read

The documentary "Singing in the Wilderness" is a look at a church chorus thrust into China's national stage after fame from participating in a televised singing competition. What makes this chorus especially interesting is that all its members are Miao—one of China's officially recognized ethnic minorities. Unlike the Muslim Uyghurs and Hui or Buddhist Tibetans, the Miao receive little international focus, which makes this documentary especially notable Read More

A Glance into the Everyday of COVID

English Film

·April 12, 2022·1 min read

“Footnote,” directed by Zhengfan Yang, consists primarily of footage of Chicago cityscapes in 2020. The footage is mostly of empty streets, paired with audio from police radio in the background Read More

Dissecting the Crimes of the Past

English Film

·April 5, 2022·2 min read

Anatomy of Time follows Maem, the daughter of a clockmaker, and her relationship with a Thai military officer involved in the violent suppression of the Communist insurgency in the 1960s and 1970s. The film jumps between when the couple is young, as well as late in life, when Maem’s husband, who goes unnamed through the film, is ill and on his deathbed Read More

Restaging Henry Liu’s Murder

English Film

·April 2, 2022·2 min read

“The Making of Crime Scenes” follows many of Hsu Che-yu’s usual concerns, in integrating oral history with CGI animation and live-action reenactment Read More

Searching for Meaning in the Cosmos

English Film

·March 23, 2022·3 min read

Journey to the West is a magnificent debut for first-time director Kong Dashan. The film is not only excellently edited and shot, but also humanistic and funny; it marks Kong as someone to keep an eye on in future years Read More

A Taiwanese Diasporic Family Drama

English Film

·March 4, 2022·3 min read

American Girl is a family drama, following a family of two girls and their mother and father after they return to Taiwan following a significant stay in the US, with the father having stayed working in Taiwan to support the rest of the family during this time. Their return is due to the fact that the mother of the family has breast cancer and has decided to come back to Taiwan for treatment. However, this results in conflict between the family, with the eldest daughter, 13-year-old Fen, wanting to stay in America and be with her friends and begrudging her mother for her illness Read More

Emotionally Gripping, if Didactic: A Review of Revolution of Our Times

English Film

·March 1, 2022·3 min read

Revolution of Our Times is not a particularly artful film, if it is often a moving one. And it is one that is highly successful on these merits. The Hong Kong protest documentary by Kiwi Chow made its debut at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival through a secretly arranged screening and started a theatrical run in Taiwan on February 25th, having won Best Documentary at the Golden Horse Film Festival Read More

Youth Tumult in Hong Kong

English Film

·February 24, 2022·2 min read

“Lost Pearl” aims to discuss Hong Kong’s contemporary political issues with a story that is set during the same time at the 2019 protests, but avoids explicitly engaging with sensitive issues. The results are mixed Read More