Toward the end of Tsai Ming-liang’s (蔡明亮) Goodbye Dragon Inn (不散), an aged film star half whispers to another: “No one goes to the movies anymore. And no one remembers us anymore.”
Tsai’s 2003 film, which takes place entirely inside Taipei’s historic Fu Ho theater shortly before its demolition, mourns the death of an older cinematic culture, a time before laptops and multiplex chains, when cinema meant a community of strangers coming together to inhabit an intimate world.
MOVIE HOUSES
Photo courtesy of Wang Xueli
But Tsai’s nostalgia was perhaps premature. The Fu Ho theater may not have survived a new age of endless screens and shrinking attention spans, but Taiwanese cinephilia did not disappear. Indeed, for years now the love of cinema has lived on in Taipei — not in the hyper-commercial multiplex, nor the sterile white cube gallery, but in cozy and convivial cafes.
On weeknights in the cultural hub of Taipei’s Gongguan (公館) and Shida Night Market (師大夜市), it is not unusual to find crowds of locals perched together in cafes, their faces lit up by scenes from an art-house or cult film. Fueled in large part by the vibrant community of cinephiles from National Taiwan University and National Taiwan Normal University, cafes have in recent years made film screenings a regular part of their weekly programming.
Admission to these films is typically a cup of coffee — arrive early to secure a seat — and range from European art films, early Taiwanese New Wave, Korean horror movies and independent cinema from China.
HALFWAY CAFE (半路咖啡)
At Halfway Cafe, the screenings feature an eclectic mix of all of the above. The space, like most Taipei cafes, is the size of a living room. On any given Friday night, one will find it filled with filmgoers.
Past screenings have included the Coen brothers’ debut Blood Simple (1984), Park Chan-wook’s infamous thriller Old Boy (2003), Werner Herzog’s darkly humorous Even Dwarves Start Small (1970) and most recently, a curious North Korean revolutionary opera called The Flower Girl (1972). Most Chinese-language films are shown with English subtitles, though usually Chinese subtitles only come with non-Chinese films.
According to Halfway’s film organizer, Ba Tun (巴頓), the point of the cafe format is in part to move away from passive spectatorship and encourage greater viewer interaction and participation.
“Here, everyone can sit and drink coffee, and afterwards stay and chat about the film,” Ba says.
In the coming weeks, Ba looks forward to sharing works by Chinese auteurs Jia Zhangke (賈樟柯) and Zhang Yuan (張元).
■ Address: 9, Alley 51, Ln 269 Roosevelt Rd, Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段269巷51弄9號)
■ On the Net: www.facebook.com/半路咖啡-766746760013130/
INSOMNIA CAFE (睡不著咖啡)
A two-minute walk from Halfway is Insomnia Cafe. Compared to its neighbors, most of which have only recently arrived on the underground film scene, Insomnia can be considered a veteran film space. According to the cafe’s owner, Insomnia has been holding screenings for at least five years. Its films are curated by a Taiwanese writer who prefers for each series to focus on a specific auteur. Past series have showcased the oeuvres of Yasujiro Ozu, Bela Tarr and the Dardenne brothers. Currently there is a comprehensive retrospective on the Polish art-house master Krzysztof Kieslowski.
Insomnia’s screening room is on a lower level below the cafe area, where art-house enthusiasts spread themselves comfortably across couches and armchairs every Wednesday evening, coffee in hand. If you arrive late, order a drink at the bar and head downstairs through the sliding door. The barista will bring the drink down to you when it’s ready.
With its impeccable film selection and elegant decor, Insomnia Cafe matches in charm and character New York’s Film Forum, Paris’ Le Champo, and London’s Barbican Center, without any of the formality and pretension that sometimes pervade these other art-house cinemas.
In his 2003 elegy to cinema as a social form, Tsai could not have imagined that cinephilia would thrive on in a new setting over 10 years later. In the space of the cafe, one gets the sense of being at home among friends. For a younger generation of film lovers, the cafe screening has breathed new life into the cinematic experience, by restoring to it perhaps its most essential — and most forgotten — aspect: human interaction.
■ Address: Insomnia Cafe (睡不著咖啡), 8, Taishun St, Ln 60, Taipei City (台北市泰順街60巷8號)
■ On the Net: www.facebook.com/insomnia.cafe
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