Within the urban gloom of Taipei, four youths face alienation, loneliness, and moments of existential crisis amidst a series of minor crimes.
Defying his parents, Hsiao-Kang drops out of the local cram school to head for the bright lights of downtown Taipei. He falls in with Ah-Tze, a pretty hood, and their relationship is a confused mixture of hero-worship and rivalry that soon leads to trouble.—L.H. Wong <[email protected]>
Tsai Ming-liang's debut feature film already includes a handful of elements familiar to fans of subsequent work: a deceptively spare style often branded minimalist; actor Lee Kang-sheng as the silent and sullen Hsiao-kang; copious amounts of water, whether pouring from the sky or bubbling up from a clogged drain; and enough urban anomie to ensure that even the subtle humor in evidence is tinged with pathos.
The loosely structured plot involves Hsiao-kang, a despondent cram school student, who becomes obsessed with young petty thief Ah-tze, after Ah-tze smashes the rearview mirror of a taxi driven by Hsiao-kangs father. Hsiao-kang stalks Ah-tze and his buddy Ah-ping as they hang out in the films iconic arcade (featuring a telling poster of James Dean on the wall) and other locales around Taipei, and ultimately takes his revenge.
