Based on the story of real-life Japanese photographer Masashi Asada, "The Asadas" teeters between cheer and melodrama Read More
Director Qiao Sixue’s “The Cord of Life” uses the story of an Inner Mongolian electronic musician to offer musings on traditional Mongolian culture’s role in modern times Read More
Taiwanese horror-thriller film “The Funeral'' is more fittingly enjoyed as a family drama with scary elements Read More
Brian Hioe spoke to Alexmalism, who researches electronic music culture as a Ph. D candidate at the City University of Hong Kong, and is also a DJ, producer, and sound artist. The following article originally appeared on Electric Soul, a Hong Kong-based electronic music magazine and ticketing platform, on December 21st, 2021 Read More
“We Don’t Dance for Nothing” is a dance and theatrics filled “love letter” to a Fillipina migrant worker’s life in Hong Kong Read More
Japanese indie film "Yoko" features Rinko Kikuchi as its titular character, who hitchhikes across Japan to her estranged father’s funeral Read More
The proverbial value that youth have a responsibility to respect and provide continuous care for elderly members of our communities even into their old age—a notion commonly known as ‘Filial Piety’—is an idea that is intertwined with contentious discourse surrounding ‘Chinese’ identity. But for all the stereotypes surrounding filiality regarding treatment of our elderly, I do genuinely wonder if that’s just the way people rhetorically pat themselves on the back while ignoring the bleaker reality of how society continues to be largely apathetic and dehumanizing towards senior citizens. One vivid memory I have of such apathy was during a summer abroad language exchange during my undergraduate years: I was running late for a facial appointment that a relative of mine—one of many extremely conservative aunts in my family who policed my apparent ‘lack of femininity’ as an adolescent woman at every given chance—had scheduled for me in an old apartment in Yau Ma Tei. Some self-owned businesses operated out of cheaply rented buildings in the area, and my facial spa was just one of many Read More
My Missing Valentine surprised in 2020 when it swept the Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan’s top film awards. The movie took home not only Best Feature Film, but also Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. The film’s two leads, Liu Kuan Ting and Patty Lee, were nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, but did not win Read More
Gubuk, directed by So Yo-hen, is a unique look at the experiences of “runaway” migrant workers in Taiwan, mixing fact and fiction, realism and the fantastical. As an experimental documentary that hopes to highlight the experience of migrant workers, the film is highly Brechtian Read More
Inside the Brick Wall—a film that can no longer safely be safely screened in Hong Kong—will no doubt prove a worthy historical document of the Hong Kong protests. Not only does the film document a key moment in the protests, but it proves a film encapsulating the dynamics of the protest in microcosm—and the subjective struggle faced by Hongkongers as a whole today Read More
SEQALU: Formosa 1867 has been widely discussed in Taiwan in past few days, following its premiere last week. As the title implies, the television drama is set in Taiwan in 1867. SEQALU is the latest historical drama offering from PTS Taiwan depicting Taiwanese history. This follows suit from last year’s Island Nation, another big-budget work that dramatized the political history of Taiwan’s democratic transition Read More
The Soul stands out among recent Taiwanese film as an effective and well-executed commercial thriller. Though the film fails to stick the landing, with its convoluted and messy conclusion undoing some of the movie’s other merits, The Soul proves an entertaining watch—even a rather evocative one Read More