Looking for Tsai
Posted by martinteller on May 25, 2012
Patrik Ericsson and Erik Hemmendorff are two Swedish film students nuts about Tsai Ming-liang. When Tsai is due to arrive in Oslo with his muse Lee Kang-sheng for a festival screening of his new film What Time Is It There?, Patrik and Erik journey to meet their idols. While there are a couple of brief interview segments where Tsai and Lee discuss their work, you won’t learn much about them. But what makes this documentary charming is how Ericsson and Hemmendorff begin to question themselves. They not only lament their lack of filmmaking skills, but are mortified by their fanboyism, latching on to Tsai and questioning how welcome they are. It’s really pretty funny watching these two guys beat themselves up, and also endearing. Of course, it helps when you share their enthusiasm for Tsai’s work. A slight but enjoyable piece. Rating: Good
