Tsai Ming-Liang and a Cinema of Slowness

The author describes a form of cinema known as the "cinema of slowness" through the films of the Malysian-born, Taiwan-based director Tsai Ming-liang, who is described as "arguably the brightest beacon for a cinema of slowness. After first exploring the theoretical landscape for labeling certain works as part of a cinema of slowness, he examines Tsai's oeuvre in relation to what he argues are the two defining features of slowness: stillness and silence. "Stillness" refers to "the use of a static rather than mobile camera" and "long takes for shots that typically comprise stillness of diegetic action" and "silence" refers to "a concomitant privileging of silence and abstenance of sonic elements usually heard on film, such as diegetic and non-diegetic music, dialogue, and voiceover." Annotation c2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)