Taiwanese film Archives - No Man Is An Island

“Old Fox” Shines With Exemplary Acting and Nuanced Take on Inequality

·March 30, 2024·3 min read

With superb acting and a stirring depiction of 1980’s Taiwan, “Old Fox” explores socioeconomic inequality through the lens of a child Read More

“Unexpected Courage” Melodramatically Heroicizes Childbirth

English Film

·July 26, 2025·2 min read

Amidst Taiwan’s plummeting birth rates, the movie “Unexpected Courage” offers an unabashedly melodramatic and pronatalist narrative Read More

“Pigsy” is a Fun, Animated Take on “Journey to the West”

English Film

·September 16, 2025·2 min read

Pigsy is an inventive, CGI-animated take on Journey to the West. The movie is set in a futuristic city-state in which a technologically advanced “New World” development scheme is soon to be launched, and which selects those who contribute the most to society to become its residents. Protagonist Pigsy works for the developer of the “New World” but is not selected himself Read More

“Day Off” Depicts the Relation Between a Mother and Her Children During a Time of Transition

English Film

·March 31, 2023·3 min read

Day Off, which has won accolades for lead actress Lu Hsiao-fen, proves a heartfelt depiction of the relationship between a mother and her children during a time of transition Read More

“The Funeral” Tries Mixing Family With Thrills and Horror

English Film

·September 14, 2022·3 min read

Taiwanese horror-thriller film “The Funeral'' is more fittingly enjoyed as a family drama with scary elements Read More

Review: A Sun (陽光普照)

English Film

·December 22, 2020·4 min read

Despite its release last year to much domestic acclaim, winning best film in 2019’s Golden Horse Awards, A Sun has received a new wave of critical attention internationally after making Variety’s list of best films of the year last month Read More

“Goddamned Asura” Aims for Humanistic Social Commentary

English Film

·March 15, 2023·3 min read

Taiwanese film in the last decade seems to have been fixated on depicting random acts of violence committed by troubled youth. This is due to the impact of real-world events such as the “Little Lightbulb Murder” in 2016 and the Cheng Chieh subway stabbing in 2014–but also due to the in-depth media reporting on these incidents that followed Read More

A Drama About a Working-Class Taiwanese Family on the Wrong Side of the Tracks

English Film

·January 7, 2023·3 min read

The rather inscrutably titled Coo-Coo 043 ( 一家子兒咕咕叫) proves a dramatic look at the lives of Taiwan’s working class, through the lens of pigeon racing. Though a bit overwrought at times, it is an effective work Read More

“Suffocating Love” Is a Quirky Taiwanese Romance That Stumbles Through Its Bizarre Plot

English Film

·August 8, 2024·2 min read

From the same director as 2020’s Taiwanese indie romance hit "IWeirDo", "Suffocating Love" has technical merits but suffers from bizarre plot progression and insufficient character development Read More

“Terrorizers” Pales in Comparison to its Edward Yang Namesake

English Film

·August 5, 2022·4 min read

Taking its title from Edward Yang’s 1986 masterpiece, 2021’s “Terrorizers” draws from contemporary inspirations and fails to make an equivalent impact 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

“In the Morning of La Petite Mort” Paints Beautiful but Uneven Narrative Evoking Tsai Ming-liang

English Film

·January 15, 2024·2 min read

Reminiscent of Tsai Ming-liang’s "Stray Dogs", "In the Morning of La Petite Mort" follows the lives of three working class individuals at the edges of Taiwanese society Read More