Goodbye, Dragon Inn
Encyclopedia
Goodbye, Dragon Inn is a 2003 Taiwanese
film
directed by Tsai Ming-liang
about the last feature at a historic Taipei
cinema
.
's 1967 sword-fighting classic Dragon Inn. Only a few people are present in the cinema, and a variety of subplot
s are developed around them. Throughout the film, the ticket woman tries to find the projectionist, searching for him in order to present him with a steamed bun. She wears an iron brace on her leg, which is a touching metaphor for her struggles with the theater. She walks around the theater throughout the film, struggling up and down stairs. A young Japanese tourist wanders around the cinema in search of a homosexual encounter. An older man tells him that the cinema is haunted. An old man, who was one of the actors who appeared in the original Dragon Inn, watches the film with tears in his eyes. Outside the theater, he encounters an older man who had been watching the film with his grandson; this man also starred in the original film.
The film is shot with almost no camera movement, most shots lasting well over thirty seconds. There are only about a dozen of lines of dialogue.
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Tsai Ming-liang
Tsai Ming-liang
Tsai Ming-liang is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese Cinema, along with earlier contemporaries such as Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang...
about the last feature at a historic Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
.
Plot
Goodbye, Dragon Inn is set in the approximately ninety minutes of the last feature at an old Taipei cinema that is closing down, showing King HuKing Hu
King Hu was a Hong Kong- and Taiwan-based Chinese film director whose Wuxia films brought Chinese cinema to new technical and artistic heights. His films Come Drink with Me , Dragon Gate Inn and A Touch of Zen inaugurated a new generation of wuxia films in the late 1960s...
's 1967 sword-fighting classic Dragon Inn. Only a few people are present in the cinema, and a variety of subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
s are developed around them. Throughout the film, the ticket woman tries to find the projectionist, searching for him in order to present him with a steamed bun. She wears an iron brace on her leg, which is a touching metaphor for her struggles with the theater. She walks around the theater throughout the film, struggling up and down stairs. A young Japanese tourist wanders around the cinema in search of a homosexual encounter. An older man tells him that the cinema is haunted. An old man, who was one of the actors who appeared in the original Dragon Inn, watches the film with tears in his eyes. Outside the theater, he encounters an older man who had been watching the film with his grandson; this man also starred in the original film.
The film is shot with almost no camera movement, most shots lasting well over thirty seconds. There are only about a dozen of lines of dialogue.
Cast
- Lee Kang-shengLee Kang-shengLee Kang-sheng is a Taiwanese actor, film director, and screenwriter. He has appeared in all of Tsai Ming-liang's feature films. Lee's directorial efforts include The Missing in 2003 and Help Me Eros in 2007.-Career:...
as the projectionist - Chen Shiang-chyiChen Shiang-chyiChen Shiang-chyi is a film actress from Taiwan.She has had starring roles in several of Tsai Ming-liang's films, including What Time Is It There?, Goodbye, Dragon Inn, The Wayward Cloud, and I Don't Want to Sleep Alone....
as the ticket woman - Mitamura Kiyonobu as the Japanese tourist
- Chun Shih as himself
- Miao Tien as himself
- Chen Chao-jungChen Chao-jungChen Chao-jung is a Taiwanese actor. He is most famous for starring in several of Tsai Ming-liang's films, including Rebels of the Neon God and Vive L'Amour.-Filmography:...
as himself - Yang Kuei-MeiYang Kuei-MeiYang Kuei-Mei is a Taiwanese actress. She has had starring roles in Eat Drink Man Woman, Vive L'Amour and The Hole.-Career:Yang has received several awards for her acting...
as the peanut-eating woman