User:Aitantv/Days, Tsai Ming Liang

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Days (2020) dir. Tsai Ming-liang. Single channel film, stereo sound, 02:07:00 duration. Homegreen Films, Taiwan.

  • Synopsis: The great Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang has been directing exquisite examinations of alienation, isolation, and the fleeting beauty of human connection featuring his muse Lee Kang-sheng for decades. His latest film, DAYS, will undoubtedly stand as one of his best, sparest, and most intimate works. Lee 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.
  • Plot: Minimalist long takes of daily life show the middle-aged and middle class Kang (Lee), and the younger Non (Houngheuangsy). Kang lives alone, relaxing in his big house with a view of a goldfish pond in his backyard. Non lives in a spartan apartment. His day begins with religious worship at an altar. He then completes chores, namely the washing of vegetables. Kang travels to the city, seeking treatment for pain in his head and neck. After an acupuncture session, he schedules a massage at the parlor where Non works. Kang pays Non after the full body massage ends, and also gives him a gift, a small music box. Kang watches Non use the box, then shares a meal with him at the fast food restaurant nearby. After the meal, the two separate, and Non rests on a bench. He plays the music box again, but it can hardly be heard over the roadway noise.
  • loneliness, isolation, empathy, the quotidian, longing
  • the sadness of being isolated and fleeting moments of intimacy
  • realist - no voiceover - just images