Here we go back to Tsai Ming-liang second feature film which my wife has watched before but I haven’t. It’s shocking to see how young Lee Kang-sheng looks here and I even noted how rough his acting is. He must have picked up the craft over the course of performing for Tsai’s films. This film also has more of a plot than the director’s later films and isn’t as artfully crafted. The themes of alienation and the strong sense of homoeroticism are plain to see, making it one of Tsai’s more lucid films. I can see why it caused a stir upon its release but it doesn’t touch the heights of sublimity he achieves in other films.

While making a delivery in a posh apartment complex, Hsiao-kang notices a key left behind in the door of a neighboring unit. After a moment of hesitation, he pockets the key and leaves. He returns at night to explore the empty apartment which is being sold, enjoying its amenities and attempts to slit his wrist. At the same time, a young woman May Lin is aimlessly passing time in a food court nearby. She catches the attention of the roguish Ah-jung. Without speaking to one another, May Lin leads him to that same apartment unit and they have sex. Hearing them, Hsiao-kang staunches his bleeding and hides. It turns out that May Lin is the real estate agent trying to sell the apartment unit. The next day Ah-jung steals a key from her and after returning from a trip, moves his belongings into the unit. In this way Hsiao-kang and him secretly live in the unit without May Lin’s knowledge and their lives become intertwined.

For those watching this in the present day, the loneliness of the characters even in the middle of the city is obvious and exactly what we’d expect of the director. I understand that this was considered obtuse at the time but it actually has a coherent timeline of events and a straightforward plot which makes it a much easier film to parse. Moreso than in Tsai’s other films, this also sexualizes the body of his muse Lee and elevates the homoeroticism. I’m tickled that despite there being sex scenes here involving May Lin and Ah-jung, all of the sexual energy is focused on the character of Hsiao-kang as the camera delights in panning all over his body. He is alienated from his colleagues, has poor prospects and struggles with a homosexuality that he is unable to express. All three characters suffer from loneliness even as they find themselves in the same apartment unit through absurd and comical circumstances. Personally I feel worn down by the theme of alienation as so many artists use it so readily but this is a perfectly cromulent execution of the concept.

I found this film fascinating in many ways, the cinematic techniques that Tsai uses as well as what it reveals of that time period. For example, all three characters smoke excessively, even in the bathroom, it’s the first thing they reach for upon waking up even. That’ll never fly today and it even looks funny to me now as they constantly need to figure out what to do with the ash. Then there’s how he allows May Lin and Ah-jung talk over the phone but never has them speak a word to each other in person to enforce the sense of alienation from each other even if they are casual lovers. It works to evoke the atmosphere Tsai needs for this film, but it also seems rather blunt by the standards his later films. The biggest cheat of all is that the characters never confront one another. Even when it’s clear to all parties what is going on, they never have a proper conversation about it, thereby maintaining the sense of distance between them.

I’m a big fan of Tsai but to me this one lacked the almost magical sense of sublimity and deep meaning he achieves at his best. I like to think of this as him still finding his style and even Lee Kang-sheng is still visibly learning how to act here. It’s still great but its flaws are more apparent so it’s underwhelming compared against his later works.