Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003)
Comfort for the lonely cinephile.
Presentation:
A lonely wander takes respite from the storm in a dim hotel. If this archetype resonates with you, this should be up your alley. This film is to be watched alone in a dark room with good audio quality. Any other way is just wrong. Films that feel like meaningful experiences are few and far between. Goodbye, Dragon Inn is a special film that did something for me that I’ve only experienced a few times through cinema. Does the idea of a crippled lady walking down hallways and climbing up ladders for 10 minutes with no dialogue sound interesting to you? What about sexual tension between strangers in an empty theatre? Normally I would critique such cinematic elitism, but the whole time my eyes remained glued to the screen. Watching, waiting, entranced, then fascinated. There are only 2 scenes of dialogue throughout the entire picture and it’s only happens 40 minutes in. The average take is maybe 2-5 minutes long. And yet by the end of it, I wanted to experience it again. This never happens for me. There a few themes but there’s no real story here. It’s the same vibe as walking through an abandoned shopping mall, except it’s a delapitated theatre in Taipei. It feels like a liminal space, basking in pure nostalgic atmosphere being transported to another time and place. If you enjoy the ambience of laundry machines, rain, or the whirring of projector reels, you may fall in love just as I did.
Analysis:
The film is about this theatre’s last day of business, which also serves as a gay cruising spot, meaning strangers will solicit sex. What’s fascinating is this theatre did actually exist in this manner and the actors on screen show up as the two old men in the film. When they say no one will remember them, it’s because they used to be big Wuxia stars as we see from the film playing in the background. Ming-Liang is making a love letter to dying cinema in 2003.
Conclusion:
Oh, you’re still reading? This film is extremely niche and not for those that need explicit storytelling or to fill up silence. It’s for the lonely cinephile or wanderer seeking comfort from the unwelcome realities of life. I’m bewildered how Ming-Liang accomplished this meditative escape, it requires a visionary understanding of narrative to craft such a cohesive mood without saying a word. Naturally, this will be slow, boring or pointless for those that don’t get it. But I was so moved by this experience that I can’t recommend it enough. It’s the culmination of Perfect Days, In the Mood for Love, and Lost in Translation. For those that have ever felt existentially lonely, this may make you feel whole again even if it’s just for 80 minutes. It’s pure cinema and I can’t get enough of it, inject it directly into my veins!
Recommendations
Comfort for the lonely cinephile.