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
“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
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
“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
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
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
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
“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
“Sonata for Smoke” stands out for its mastery of the technical aspects of filmmaking, playing with viewers’ expectations through its proficiency. The film begins with what appears to be a burning object, along with a blunt instrument that is eventually revealed to be a microphone. They are left to wonder what they are seeing for several moments, before the camera pulls back Read More
Discover the top Taiwanese movies of 2021 across genres like horror, romance, LGBTQ, comedy, documentary, and more—streaming links included Read More
Archiving Time, an hour-long documentary on Taiwanese film preservation currently available on Taiwan+, is a well-executed take on what could be a rather cut-and-dry subject. Namely, the film proves an argument for the importance of film preservation, as well as a documentary film that details the process Read More
The following film shorts were shown at this year's Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei Read More