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Dissecting the Crimes of the Past

·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

When in Taiwan: The Color of Your Skin

English Life

·April 13, 2021·18 min read

To be a child of globalization comes with an inconceivable sense of perpetual displacement—a disturbance of sort: the fault lines between distant societies or “civilizations” are deeply felt in the space you occupy, the people you interact with, and the commonplace cross-cultural misunderstandings you observe Read More

A Spirit of “Anything Goes”

English Music

·March 12, 2022·3 min read

Brian Hioe spoke with Hojo about his recently taking up a post as music director of 23 Music Room in Taipei. The following article originally appeared on Electric Soul, a Hong Kong-based electronic music magazine and ticketing platform, on February 24th Read More

Review: “Hotel Iris” Exhibits Transgressive Love…and Taiwan-Japan Amity

English Film

·July 13, 2021·4 min read

Based on Yoko Ogawa’s popular novel, “Hotel Iris” is the latest movie that highlights Taiwan-Japan relations through the lens of love and lust Read More

Of Garbage and Redemption

English Film

·August 6, 2021·3 min read

City of Lost Things, a CGI animated film, surprises not only because of the well-scripted, tightly knit story but also because of its inventive animation. It manages this without relying on high-budget technical wizardry, per se, but by creative use of rather basic CGI elements. It is not surprising, then, that the movie won Best Animated Film at the Golden Horse Film Festival in 2020 Read More

Film Review: Twelve Nights 2 (十二夜 2)

English Film

·December 7, 2020·5 min read

Twelve Nights, a 2013 documentary film about animal shelters, is probably one of the most influential Taiwanese advocacy films you have not heard about Read More

Diasporic Loss and Foreign Gods

English Film

·May 14, 2021·3 min read

The short film, “Kuroshio Current,” aims to tell a story of diasporic loss framed by traditional Taiwanese folk religion Read More

Review: A First Farewell (第一次的離別)

English Film

·March 2, 2021·4 min read

A First Farewell is a remarkable film by first-time director Wang Lina. The film is shot in Wang’s hometown of Shaya, Wang being a Han director that grew up in Xinjiang Read More

Everyone is an Island

English Life

·March 23, 2021·3 min read

There are no answers in the vast endless ocean...only questions Read More

What Disappears During an Outbreak

English Life

·July 23, 2021·3 min read

It’s likely that a lot of bars or nightclubs will disappear during the current outbreak—particularly smaller establishments that eke out a living with what few customers they have Read More

Having Faith in a Secular World

Books English Life

·July 20, 2021·6 min read

Joshua E. Livingston’s Sunrays on the Beachhead of the New Creation, a book with 54 short stories with black and white graphic illustrations that serve the tales beautifully and integrally, deals with what it means to have faith (specifically Christian faith), and what it takes to have faith when our daily reality is decidedly secular. When secularism is practically a religion, what does it mean to believe, be spiritual, and attempt to see beyond ourselves? Does life have no meaning beyond what we are capable of understanding? Read More

From Classical to Electronic and Beyond: An Interview with XIAOLIN

English Music

·February 18, 2022·7 min read

Brian Hioe spoke to XIAOLIN, the founder of Hex, who also DJs at 宀 Mihn Club. The following article originally appeared on Electric Soul, a Hong Kong-based electronic music magazine and ticketing platform, on December 23rd Read More