Tsai Ming-Liang: An American Cinematheque Retrospective - Days

The American Cinematheque is honored to welcome the legendary Malaysian-Taiwanese filmmaker, Tsai Ming-liang, in-person for a 14-film retrospective celebrating his incomparable career as one of the leading figures in the “Second New Wave” of Taiwanese cinema. Tsai’s work exudes an unparalleled beauty, as his camera lingers in and around the quiet corners of urban cities, forming enigmatic character studies in the lonely existence of his many alienated subjects. Actor Lee Kang-sheng is often tasked with embodying one of these lonely urban inhabitants, as he has appeared in all of Tsai’s feature films to-date, and whom we are pleased to welcome alongside the filmmaker in Q&As during this very special tribute to one of the vital voices in world cinema.

In Mandarin with English subtitles.

Lee Kang-sheng once again stars as a variation on himself, wandering through a lonely urban landscape and seeking treatment in Hong Kong for a chronic illness; at the same time, a young Laotian immigrant working in Bangkok, played by Anong Houngheuangsy, goes about his daily routine. These two solitary men eventually come together in a moment of healing, tenderness, and sexual release. Among the most cathartic entries in Tsai’s filmography, DAYS is a work of longing, constructed with the director’s customary brilliance at visual composition and shot through with profound empathy.

FORMAT: DCP

DISTRIBUTOR: Grasshopper Film

COUNTRY: Taiwan

Cost: $8.00 (member); $13.00 (general admission)