Taiwanese film Archives - Page 2 of 3

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

·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

“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

“My Best Friend’s Breakfast” Teases Originality but Falls Back onto Flawed Formulae

English Film

·July 30, 2022·2 min read

2022’s top Taiwanese romance blockbuster "My Best Friend’s Breakfast" will probably appeal to genre fans, but fails to innovate enough beyond established tropes for anyone else to enjoy Read More

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

Uncategorized

·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

“Seven Days in Heaven” Blends Youthful and Flippant Rebellion With Distinct Taiwanese Flavor

English Film

·October 5, 2023·3 min read

2010 tragicomedy "Seven Days in Heaven" explores a working-class family’s mourning rites amidst a southern Taiwanese backdrop 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

“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

“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

A Beat Ahead or Behind of the World

English Film

·July 9, 2021·3 min read

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

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

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