‘Days’: Tsai Ming-liang’s Latest is Minimalist But Moving [NYFF Review]

Nothing “happens” in the opening scene of Tsai Ming-liang’s “Days,” at least not in any conventional sense: Kang (Lee Kang-sheng), a middle-class, middle-aged man, is sitting at his window, looking out at as the rain falls. The shot lasts four-and-a-half minutes, without cutting or moving – just a man, staring out a window and thinking. It’s a deliberate choice, right off the bat; if you get antsy, this may not be the movie for you. On the other hand, it’s okay to get antsy, because the filmmaker isn’t just setting the scene. He’s slowing the viewer’s resting heart rate, acclimating us to the style and rhythm in which he’s going to work for the next two-plus hours.

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