When
Wed 14 Jun 2023
Shot over five years and across three countries, Tsai’s latest, largely unscripted feature provides a characteristic, if surprisingly warm portrait of contemporary ennui and the problems of ageing and connecting in modern society. Following his long-time muse – Lee Kang-Cheng – as he seeks treatment in Hong Kong for the back ailment that first emerged (for actor and character) in 1997’s The River, Tsai becomes equally fascinated by a Laotian migrant working in Bangkok. When these solitary figures finally come together in a moment of true tenderness it speaks to the inherent soulfulness and even nostalgia of the filmmaker’s oeuvre.
Also screening on Wed 14 June
Program
One Day at a Time: The cinema of Tsai Ming-Liang
What Time Is It There? (2001) – Wed 31 May, 7pm
Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) – Wed 31 May, 9.15pm
Rebels of the Neon God (1992) – Wed 7 Jun, 7pm
The Wayward Cloud (2005) – Wed 7 Jun, 9pm
The River (1997) – Wed 14 Jun, 7pm
Days (2020) – Wed 14 Jun, 9.10pm
About the program
Of all the notable figures of to emerge in 1990s world cinema, few have developed a corpus of work as consistently transfixing and distinctive as that of Malaysian-Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-Liang (1957–). Born in Kuching, Sarawak, Tsai was largely raised by his cinephile grandparents, who would take him to the movies twice a day from the age of three...
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About Melbourne Cinémathèque
Australia's longest-running film society, Melbourne Cinémathèque screens significant works of international cinema in the medium they were created, the way they would have originally screened.
Melbourne Cinémathèque is self-administered, volunteer-run, not-for-profit and membership-driven.
