Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
Director
Tsai Ming-liang
Cast
Lee Kang-Sheng,
Chen Shiang-Chyi,
Kiyonobu Mitamura,
Miao Tien,
Shih Chun,
Chen Chao-jung
Genre
Drama
A historic and regal theater in Taipei is screening its final film, the 1967 wuxia classic "Dragon Inn", on a dark and rainy night. Inside, the lives of the theater employees, a Japanese tourist, and even the actors from the "Dragon Inn" all intersect in unexpected ways.
Media now often revolves around speeding up the pace of everything, from editing to runtime. This film forces viewers to take the time and exist slowly. While this may sound like a chore, it never feels boring, and the film leaves you with a profound sense of the importance of taking time to enjoy the movies.
One of the most visually striking films ever made--Tsai manages to make a prolonged wide shot of a woman cleaning a movie theater beautiful. This film is a deeply touching expression of a pure love of cinema, rife with bittersweet nostalgia. It's never overstated or sappy, but by the end of its runtime, the viewer feels bowled over with emotion.
The Hollywood Reporter by Richard James Havis
An elegy for the days when Taiwan was a major East Asian film production center.
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
This is a funny, sad, stunningly smart movie about the end of movies, made in Tsai's inimitable, unblinking style. No movie lover should miss it.
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Has a quiet, cumulative magic, whose source is hard to identify. Its simple, meticulously composed frames are full of mystery and feeling; it's an action movie that stands perfectly still.
Village Voice by J. Hoberman
A movie of elegant understatement and considerable formal intelligence.
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
For all its minimalism, Tsai Ming-liang's 81-minute masterpiece manages to be many things at once.
New York Daily News by Jami Bernard
A droll gem that celebrates movie love with feeling and deadpan humor.
The A.V. Club by Keith Phipps
It could all be done much more efficiently, but any other approach would lose Tsai's unique mix of stone-faced comedy and dewy-eyed lyricism.
New York Post by V.A. Musetto
A loving tribute to cinema by Tsai Ming-liang, one of Taiwan's most accomplished and popular directors.
TV Guide Magazine by Ethan Alter
Though the film's deliberate pace is sometimes frustrating, it casts a quietly powerful spell and the memory of its images lingers provocatively long after they've flickered into darkness.
TV Guide Magazine
Though the film's deliberate pace is sometimes frustrating, it casts a quietly powerful spell and the memory of its images lingers provocatively long after they've flickered into darkness.
Variety by David Rooney
This feels like short film material stretched exasperatingly thin but nonetheless casts a certain sad spell, graced by moments of droll observational humor.
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