By Chris Kriofske
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Tsai Ming-liang
Starring: Anong Houngheuangsy | Kang-sheng Lee
Original language title: Rizi
Country: france, taiwan
Year: 2021
Running time: 127
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11697820/reference
Chris says: “Tsai Ming-liang’s a filmmaker who tends to make the same kind of picture over and over, like Yasujiro Ozu (to name one of his precursors) or Hong Sang-Soo (a contemporary.) This isn’t a deterrent, for nearly three decades after his feature debut (1992’s REBELS OF THE NEON GOD), he’s still unearthing inspiration in such long standing obsessions as loneliness, urban life, food, sex and, more so than perhaps any other auteur, water in all of its forms.
“Since the anomalous erotic (!) musical THE WAYWARD CLOUD (2005), his work has seemingly turned more minimalist with each effort. His latest sports the disclaimer, ‘This film is intentionally un-subtitled’, which led me to expect even less action than his last narrative feature, STRAY DOGS (2013), which had its share of lengthy, endless scenes of people staring at a wall or eating a rotisserie chicken. Not that DAYS does a 180 on its predecessor, for it opens with another lengthy, static shot of Tsai’s long-running, now middle-aged protagonist Kang (Lee Kang-sheng) sitting and blankly staring at the camera over a steady rain.
“Actually, quite a lot happens in the film; it just does so at a snail’s pace, occasionally approaching the repetitious style of classic structuralist cinema. When the film’s other character, the younger Non (Anong Houngheuangsy) spends ample time preparing his dinner, meticulously washing his lettuce and fish multiple times, it feels like a direct homage to the rituals incessantly enacted in real time throughout Chantal Akerman’s JEANNE DIELMAN… (1975).
“Individual scenes with Kang or Non make up the film’s first half; a little more than midway through, the two men come together in a long sequence that most viewers will decidedly not find boring. Afterwards, we see them apart again until the final shot fades to white. Again, a deliberate structure, even if Tsai claims he pretty much made the film up as he went along, working without a screenplay (there’s so little dialogue that the subtitles aren’t missed.)
“Viewers unfamiliar with or unreceptive to Tsai’s work may think, ‘Huh?’ at all this; his devotees might also initially arrive at that conclusion, at least initially. While not as masterful as, say, WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? (2001), given time to absorb and ponder DAYS, I grew to appreciate it far more. It’s a quiet and often gentle film, running through those same, ongoing obsessions I mentioned above; fortunately, they don’t yet feel stale or superfluous. Like any master of minimalism, Tsai’s still adept at taking the same puzzle pieces and rearranging them into (if ever so slightly) distinct configurations that at best inspire one to look at the familiar with fresh eyes. 4.5 cats“
Michael says: “I’m in complete agreement with Chris on this one. I’m continuously amazing at how music I enjoy Tsai Ming-liang’s films, no matter how opaque or glacially-paced they are. Chris mentions the themes that the director favors, and after seeing his documentary, AFTERNOON, I’m beginning to think that these are the themes that emerge from his leading man, Lee Kang-sheng’s life. DAYS is rather interesting because it was pieced together from footage that Tsai shot when Kang (the actor) traveled to Bangkok to seek relief from an affliction that sent shooting pains through his neck. He also shot scenes of a new discovery for filmic inspiration, a young non-actor Anopng Houngheuangsy, preparing his meal with precise care, washing the vegetables and fish that he then proceeds to cook. These two character do eventually come together, possibly meeting for the first time for a business transaction that turns into something else, or possibly men who see each other from time to time and have developed a rhythm to ease each other’s loneliness for a short time.
I recently went back to watch Tsai’s debut film, REBELS OF THE NEON GOD, and was surprised at the young, the then just over 20-year-old Kang appeared. It’s true, that while he still doesn’t look his 52 years, the actor carries a world-weariness in his face and body that was most-likely exacerbated by the debilitating pain he was suffering during the shoot. Also intriguing was the fact that Tsai use the actual hoe that he and Kang share in real life as the setting for Kang (the character’s) home in the country. The blending of random filmed scenes, and real life with a simple, yet beautiful story is nothing short of glorious. I know Tsai is slowing down his film output, and has claimed to be in retirement, but I do hope we get more visual storytelling from this intriguing master. 4 1/2 cats“