Goodbye Dragon Inn

The last night of a crumbling picture palace becomes a mesmerising elegy to a bygone era of cinema.

A rundown cinema in Taipei is closing its doors for good. On its last night, the film that plays out for the scattered patrons is Dragon Inn, a 1967 wuxia classic that filled theatres in its heyday. The few remaining workers who witness the dilapidated building's final night are an usher who walks with a pronounced limp and the projectionist who she secretly pines for.

Inside the cinema, the mostly male patrons wander the aisles, men’s toilets and secret backrooms searching for sex.

Curator’s note
Tsai Ming-liang's quietly funny slow burner is a tender ode to the glory days of Taiwan’s cinematic golden age. Featuring a roster of actors who have appeared throughout Tsai's body of work, it also reunites two stars of the original 1967 Dragon Inn, adding emotional weight to the film's meditation on memory, longing and cinema.

Goodbye, Dragon Inn is a heartfelt tribute to the legacy that paved the way for the Taiwan New Wave and a portrait of the desires we project onto the screen once the lights go down.