Goodbye, Dragon Inn

We're in a dilapidated cinema in Taipei: full of magic when the sword-swinging classic 'Dragon Inn' (King Hu, 1967) rolls on the canvas, but evocative and frayed in both wallpaper and staff when the lights come on. A young man struggles with a grim inflammation abscess, a tourist is off for a sex cruise, bodies move routinely around the staff aisles as others meet in the nooks and crannies. Among the few audience members in the hall are two of the actors from 'Dragon Inn', Shih Chun and Tien Miao, who see themselves as young and doomed at the same time: This will be the last film the cinema will show. “Nobody remembers us anymore,” they say with tears in their eyes. “Nobody goes to the cinema anymore.”

Directed by: Tsai Ming-liang
Starring: Kang-sheng Lee, Shiang-chyi Chen, Kiyonobu Mitamura
Country/year: Taiwan, 2003
Running time: 82 min.
Formato: DCP
Language: English subtitles
Age limit: Allowed for children over 15
Original title: Bu san

Part of the series: The Many Lives of the Cinema
For 30 years, the cinema halls in Gothersgade have been the beating heart of Cinemateket. We celebrate this with a series of films set in and around cinemas, depicting life in the hall, the foyer and behind the scenes. Welcome to the cinema!