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Chichi Tsai

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Genuinely one of the best movies about teenage girlhood I've ever seen. The ferocious care and joy these characters share with each other, even as they're forced to confront struggles beyond what they know how to (or should be asked to) cope with. Features winningly naturalistic performances from an ensemble cast. This movie captures the pace and candor of schoolyard conversations and the fumbling tenderness of teen friendships better than any other. Heart-wrenching, funny, luminous, true.
A balanced, emotionally challenging show that addresses all affected parties to a horrific crime with balance and empathy. I found the relentless commitment to showing all perspectives difficult at times, but deeply necessary. Tackles thorny societal topics about professional journalism ethics vs the commercial state of media industry well.
This was one of the first homegrown movies to make a popular impression on the Taiwanese market, so this is a real nostalgic childhood watch for me. It's difficult to describe the joy and surprise we all had when seeing details so familiar to us on screen in a funny, romantic, non-arthouse family movie. I know many families who went to a first-run theater for the first time in their lives to catch this movie. We all had Cape No. 7 posters and fake burnished address plates and talked about wanting to become piano players like Da-da during elementary school recess. Revisited this recently and the charmingly messy Taiwanese images (three triplets sitting on a wall happily devouring sausages at the night market, a man on a scooter leaning over to pick up a fallen betel nut whilst waiting at a traffic light) still hit as much as ever.
I found this to be very difficult to watch at times. It's an uncomfortably vulnerable film about a young woman who seems to be the last person to realize what is happening to her. Her upper class naivete and her desire to be taken seriously as an artist is at odds with with her relative newness as both a woman in the world and a budding filmmaker. What is going on with her lover is a mystery to nobody except her, but there's a kind of strength in the conviction of her misguided belief that can be beautiful or terrifying in equal measure.

I think its a brave movie about a very sheltered girl shot by a very honest older filmmaker. I had high hopes for these films but I didn't connect emotionally to them. I don't think it's a must watch unless you're interested in a kind of artistic coming of age alongside a portrait of a toxic relationship where the love is, if frustrating, at least very earnestly felt.
Such a delightful comfort show! The chemistry between contestants varies depending on season, but I rarely find a combination that does not have its own charm.
There's something deeply alluring about this odd, atmospheric space epic. The haunting mood lingered in my mind for days after, but High Life's length and faintly unsatisfying nonlinear narrative makes it a film not meant for everyone. Intense and unsettling; compelling concept with an artistic execution that doesn't really answer questions a more plot-minded audience would want it to.
A tender film about sisterhood and daughterhood and motherhood. Phenomenal performances. I especially loved the way the scenery around Tainan city and the nuanced and empathetic views of grief and love.
I enjoyed this second part more than I did the first; it's an easier emotional journey, though no less rewarding. Part II focuses much more on the creative act of becoming an artist and how to process the things that happened to you, once the looming daily dread of "what could happen" in a difficult relationship is (terribly, horrifically) removed. It is messy, funny, healing, and bravely vulnerable. I liked the naturalistic performances and the emphasis on the collaborative nature of filmmaking.
A whimsical, charming romantic fantasy that doesn't skimp on the visuals. Delightfully warm and perfect for holiday viewing!
Lush, wild, and achingly romantic. A deeply stirring drama about love, passion, and eroticism.
An endlessly quotable, pitch-perfect mockumentary about vampire roommates living in modern New Zealand. I've seen it more times than I am comfortable saying and it is inventive, hilarious, and delightful every time.
One of the most visually beautiful and tonally unique romance films I've ever seen. Absolutely one of my favorite films I've ever seen. It is lush, playful, unsettling, and unpredictable. Tang Wei gives a luminous performance. I wish I could download the score and listen to it always.
Funny, emotional, with a few nuanced takes about the rigid definitions of academic and professional excellence at Indian universities along with the deep central core of friendship. A true crowd-pleaser that's perfect for family movie nights.
A gorgeously shot, quietly intense adaptation of the classic "Nei Yin Niang." The threads of simmering romance, loyalties, political connections, and honorable duty are woven into a rich, yet somehow understated, film. I loved it.
A gorgeously shot, quietly intense adaptation of the classic "Nei Yin Niang." The threads of simmering romance, loyalties, political connections, and honorable duty are woven into a rich, yet somehow understated, film. I loved it.