Directed by Tsai Ming-Liang, 1998, 95 minutes, screening in 35mm

In a rain-soaked, near-future Taipei struck by a mysterious virus, two neighbors remain in a nearly deserted apartment building. A plumbing leak opens a hole between their units, connecting the man upstairs and the woman below. As isolation deepens, their bleak reality is punctuated by musical fantasy sequences that reveal longing and vulnerability. The film quietly meditates on loneliness, contagion, and the fragile possibility of human connection.

The Alternative Cinema series is made possible by the Department of Art, Film and Media Studies, and the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty.