Goodbye, Dragon Inn

Tsai Ming-Liang's hypnotic masterwork, which relies on gestures and expressions (the dialogue is limited and almost seems intrusive), is set in a dilapidated Taipei cinema during its final screening, a retro presentation of the 1966 martial arts flick Dragon Inn. A Japanese tourist who wanders in finds unusual distractions, including an invitation to a downstairs section used as a gay cruising station and the ghostly presence of a pair of audience members who seem a little too connected with the onscreen action (elderly actors Shih Chun and Tien Miao, who were actually the stars of Dragon Inn). Meanwhile, the handicapped female cashier has a crush on the projectionist, who is barely concentrating on his work, let alone her emotions. Throughout, the reverberating soundtrack of the old movie echoes across the nearly-empty auditorium. Goodbye, Dragon Inn can be viewed on many levels: as a creepy meditation on the power of cinema, an artistic statement on the inability of people to connect, a droll send-up of movie obsession, or a bizarre dive into the avant-garde. A unique and challenging work, beautifully framed and executed, the film's very leisurely pacing will turn off many, but the ethereal shouldn't be confused with the funereal: the setting may be a dying cinema, but the film is rich with life. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (P. Hall)