Synopsis

A single mother and her two daughters return to Taipei after several years of living in the countryside to open a stand at a buzzing night market. Each in their way will have to adapt to this new environment to make ends meet and maintain the family unity. But when their traditional grandfather forbids his youngest left-handed granddaughter from using her “devil hand,” generations of family secrets begin to unravel.

Synopsis

In the 16th century, after convincing Spanish royalty to fund his expedition, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (played with harrowing intensity by Gael García Bernal) sets his sights on Southeast Asia. Charting a course for the Malay Archipelago, he embarks on a brutal campaign of religious conversion and colonial conquest, but obsession and madness begin to take hold.

Filipino auteur and “slow cinema” practitioner Lav Diaz helms this starkly beautiful biopic, an unconventional epic centering violence against a series of stunning, languid landscapes. Deliberately paced and endlessly absorbing, Diaz subverts the genre’s conventions at every turn, rejecting traditional mythmaking in favor of a more exacting, critical eye. The result is an awe-inspiring history that examines the sinister cruelty fueling the Age of Discovery.

Synopsis

Recently released from prison, Pua returns to the criminal underworld in order to make ends meet. He also sets out in search of his former cellmate, Mi-ji. But life on the outside is more complicated. When their reunion doesn’t go as expected, the two men are forced to navigate a web of conflicting loyalties, obligations, and smoldering desires.

Synopsis

This tender and introspective drama connects the lives of three seemingly disparate characters: an unexpectedly pregnant painter, a distracted tour guide, and a talentless boxer. Each at a crossroads in their lives, they’re forced to reflect on their pasts as they prepare for uncertain futures. Intricately weaving together the threads of their lives, the film offers an elegant, surreal portrait of a generation at a crossroads.

Synopsis

A photographer wanders through Taipei as the city braces for a presidential election. Adrift and questioning his chosen vocation, self-doubt begins to creep in as his 30th birthday approaches. What does his future hold? A thoughtful blend of fiction and documentary, complemented by gentle, strikingly composed black-and-white cinematography, distinguish this contemplative urban travelog of sorts that echoes the quiet pulse of life in the city.