Days & Afternoon (2015 & 2020) Two Films by Tsai Ming-Liang

I only watched Goodbye Dragon Inn for the first time in 2022. I hadn’t seen anything like it before. I wasn’t new to slower cinema, but I was new to Tsai Ming-liang, who seemed to have cast a spell on me — I was transfixed by his images and blown away by his ability to conjure an atmosphere that was both haunting and romantic. He instantly became one of those directors where I wanted to get my hands on everything he’d ever made. Sometimes life gets in the way and his work went unwatched. That was until I was offered the chance to review Second Run’s new release of Days and Afternoon. What I found particularly fascinating about taking this on was that a few people I followed had wondered aloud how these films would play to those who weren’t overly familiar with Ming-liang’s work, as if both films were more rewarding for seasoned veterans. I can’t speak to that, but as a newcomer I can say that this stunning Second Run release has converted me into a huge fan. 

Days (2020) is gorgeous mediation on life and connection. Kang (the ever-present Lee Kang-sheng) lives alone in a big house. Non (Anong Houngheuangsy) lives in a small apartment in town. We watch as both men go about their daily routines. Eventually they meet and then go their separate ways. I am purposefully being vague. Firstly because this film isn’t about plot and secondly because, if you’re like me and new to this film, I would encourage you to mirror my experience and go in knowing as little as possible. The moment in which Kang and Non meet is like the Earth’s plates shifting. Having been fully immersed in their solitary lives and routines for the first hour, their moment of physical contact feels transcendent.

Days is a film that rewards you for fully committing to it. It is incredibly slow, in a way which mirrors life. I think few films capture what it’s actually like to feel lonely, to feel the emptiness and the quiet. Tsai Ming-liang’s beautiful framing and commitment to holding long shots allows his audience to truly live in the loneliness of his characters. The film is purposefully ‘unsubtitled’, which forces us to pay even closer attention to the images, the sound design and open our minds to different forms of connection. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this film. I didn’t realise how much I needed it. To be immersed in a modern emptiness and then be reminded of passion and longing and feeling alive. For a film that is so slow it feels so urgent and it is a masterclass in filmmaking. 

Afternoon (2015) is a filmed conversation between Tsai Ming-liang and his regular collaborator Lee Kang-sheng, a long and eclectic discussion about their career, their cohabitation and musings on mortally. It makes for a fascinating companion to Days, with the quiet being replaced by a rambling, evolving 135 minute discussion. Afternoon reveals Tsai Ming-liang to be what I expected from the two films I’d seen — a deep thinker and someone who feels life and cares deeply for the people around him. It surprised me to find out he is a talker. He leads the conversation, almost solely for the first thirty minutes, probing his long-time collaborator to talk about what their films have meant to him, before asking Lee about how he’d feel if Tsai was the first to die. Tsai Ming-liang and Lee Kang-sheng have collaborated on eleven feature films, numerous short films, television movies and stage plays. Tsai is very open about what Lee means to him — he can’t imagine working without him. They are forever interlinked. While I would love to have watched this film having experienced more of their collaborations together, it is still a fascinating insight into this unique relationship between filmmaker and actor. As someone who isn’t familiar with the films they reference, I don’t feel alienated, I feel intrigued. And I instantly feel close to both of them. This wide-ranging, heart-bearing conversation gives and gives and gives. It made me appreciate two men I had just met and it made me excited for all of the Tsai Ming-liang’s films I’ve yet to meet. 

It’s been a while since a film has rocked my world like Days. I find myself thinking about it during the day and dreaming about it at night. Whether you’re a seasoned fan of Tsai Ming-liang, or someone who wants to discover a singular talent, this release from Second Run is a must buy. Both films are presented in beautiful new HD transfers and the release also includes a filmed interview with the director, Wandering: a short film reflecting Tsai’s ‘Walker’ art installation project, Days Passed: Lee Kang-Sheng Through the Eyes of Tsai Ming-Liang: a video essay by Michelle Cho and a 20-page booklet with a new essay by writer So Mayer. 

Jimmy’s Archive – Days & Afternoon (2015 & 2020) Two Films by Tsai Ming-Liang