Days

Days

The great Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang - along with his lead actor and must Lee Kang-sheng - has been directing exquisite examinations of alienation, isolation, and the fleeting beauty of human connection for decades. His latest film, Days, will undoubtedly stand as one of his best, sparest and most intimate works. Lee once again stars as a variation on himself, wandering through a lonely urban landscape and seeking treatment in Hong Kong for a chronic illness. At the same time, a young Laotian immigrant working in Bangkok, played by Anong Houngheuangsy, goes about his daily routine. These two solitary men eventually come together in a moment of healing, tenderness and sexual release. Among the most cathartic entries in Tsai's filmography, Days is a work of longing, constructed with the director's customary brilliance at visual composition and shot through with profound empathy. Many different film critics have hailed it as one of the best films of the year.