Taiwanese film Archives - No Man Is An Island

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

·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

Taiwan Comedy-Drama “Mama Boy” Adequately Explores Mother-Son Relations

English Film

·August 20, 2022·3 min read

Starring Kai Ko as an awkward fish store worker, "Mama Boy" is the latest Taiwanese movie featuring the trope of overbearing mothers Read More

“Girl” and “Left-handed Girl”: Two Tales of Mothers, Daughters, and Trauma

English Film

·November 16, 2025·5 min read

First, there was “American Girl” in 2021. Now we have “Left-handed Girl”, and, naturally, the succinctly titled “Girl”—two more coming-of-age dramas centred around young women (and the mothers who raise them). But where the former film is about a Taiwanese diasporic family returning from the US, these two new films are purely grounded in Taipei Read More

“Double Happiness” Pits Adult Children Against Their Emotionally Immature Taiwanese Parents

English Film

·August 15, 2026·4 min read

Taiwan’s top-grossing domestic drama of 2026 steers a collision course of filial appeasement, wounded child-self, and Chiang Kai-Shek’s secret slide. Read More

The 10 Best Taiwanese Movies of 2023

English Film

·January 7, 2024·10 min read

Discover the top Taiwanese movies of 2023 across genres like comedy, romance, thriller, LGBTQ, comedy, and more—streaming links included when available Read More

Zombies in the Taiwanese Legislature?

English Film

·March 18, 2021·4 min read

Get the Hell Out is an absurdist zombie comedy that starts out well enough Read More

“The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon” Proves an Uneven if Well-Executed Work

English Film

·November 30, 2024·2 min read

Despite garnering a number of awards and otherwise being a capably executed film, The Pig, the Snake, and the Pigeon ultimately proves an uneven work. This is primarily because of the movie’s failure to develop compelling characters or a cohesive 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

“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

“Gaga” Provides a Glimpse of an Indigenous Family Caught in Changing Times

English Film

·September 9, 2023·2 min read

Gaga, directed by Laha Mebow, is not a perfect work, but it manages to be a candid intergenerational family drama nonetheless Read More

Review: Taiwanese Shakespeare Adaptation “As We Like It” Subverts Traditional Theatrical Gender-Bending

English Film

·March 11, 2021·5 min read

With its all-woman cast, Taiwanese movie “As We Like It” critiques the exclusion of women in Shakespearean theatre and asks audiences to consider life beyond a gender binary Read More

“Didi” is a Gentle and Heartfelt Tribute to Adolescence

English Film

·September 24, 2024·3 min read

Didi, the first feature-length film by a Taiwanese American director, Sean Wang, is a gentle and heartfelt tribute to the growing pains of adolescence Read More