Nostalgia for the Night
Oh, the allure of looking back and reminiscing for better days gone by… Nostalgia develops in us sentimental creatures for a multitude of reasons, be it dissatisfaction of the present, an impending doom for the future, or the painful realisation of past mistakes. The most poignant form of nostalgia materialises when the present has passed the point of no return. Force majeure and the ones that got away. Films on the list captured distinct era in the personal or societal past, that shine light on our inescapable present, for better or worse. Might we become better beings when we come out from the other side. “If we should weep when clowns put on their show, If we should stumble when musicians play, Time will say nothing but I told you so.” If I Could Tell You - W.H. Auden
8 films
Dream in Silence
The Edge of Night
KJ: Music and Life
Letter to the Young Intellectuals of Hong Kong
Grandma's Hairpin
Before the Box Gets Emptied
The Sea Within
Su Beng, the Revolutionist
Popular
Kinda Loser-ish, But Kinda Nice
“Lu-se” (魯蛇, Taiwanese internet slang borrowed from the English word “loser”) seems to have become a dead word. You rarely hear anyone say it anymore, and I’m not sure why. I don’t think the term can be understood simply as the English “loser.” In the way it’s used in Taiwan, it seems to carry a touch of self-deprecating humor, and that’s a quality I really love. The films above are the ones that, to me, have that feeling.