Please note: This was screened in
In Taipei City, a cavernous old cinema (set almost entirely at the Fu-Ho Grand, a rundown 1,000-seat Taipei film theatre) is about to close its doors forever.
Ghostly visitors pay their final visit; some cruise the bathrooms and hallways for pick-up opportunities while others enjoy King Hu’s martial arts masterpiece Dragon Inn, projected in the almost empty hall. Among the silent viewers, you might spot two real-life stars of the 1967 classic, watching themselves perhaps for the last time on the big screen.
With almost no dialogue, the film quietly mourns the glorious days of single-screen cinemas. What emerges is a nuanced look at the act of cinema-going, and the culmination of Tsai's investigations into the presence that popular media has in our lives.
Presented here in a new 4K restoration the film is more ravishing and hypnotic than ever.
A 4K restoration by CINEMATEK, the Royal Film Archive of Belgium c/o Homegreen Films (Claude Wang).