For many directors, there seems to be something intensely personal about their first films. Malaysian-born filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang’s (蔡明亮) Taipei trilogy feels like that. In those films, he explores youthful anomie, unspoken longings, and familial dysfunction in ‘90s Taipei. By his admission, much of his inspiration comes from his own experiences.
很多導演的頭幾部作品似乎都帶著某種強烈的個人色彩。馬來西亞出生的電影導演蔡明亮的「台北三部曲」也具有這種特色。在這幾部電影中，他以90年代的台北為背景，探索著青春的失序、無以名狀的渴望，以及家庭的失能。據他表示，有許多靈感源於個人經驗。
Knowing where to begin with any director can be a challenge, particularly with one as deliberately paced as Tsai. For him, though, it really is best to begin at the beginning. To do so is to watch Tsai struggling to find a cinematic language, just as his recurring cast of characters struggle to find their place in a fast-changing world. No one can maintain that level of vulnerability, personally or artistically, over a lifetime. But that’s why it’s beautiful when one dares. By shedding many of the conventions of New Wave predecessors like Edward Yang (楊德昌) and Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), Tsai freed himself to depict love and loneliness for a new generation and cement his place among the great auteurs of the century.
要了解某個導演，可能不容易找到出發點，尤其當我們想了解蔡明亮這種刻意調整步調的導演時更是如此。想了解他的創作，最好的方法就是「從頭開始」。從頭開始看，能看見蔡明亮如何奮力地尋找自身電影語言，亦如他電影中反覆出現的演員在變化無常的世界中奮力找尋容身之地。
Pacific Desires 