Days/ Afternoon — Days/ Afternoon( Blu Ray)
From Second Run, one of the key labels releasing world/ arthouse films, here is a two-blu ray disc set bringing together two films from Malaysian film-maker Tsai Ming-liang. His work often uses very long set shots, with little dialogue, and a use of ambient soundtracking. The two films here are 2020’s Days, which is a study of two men's lives, at either end of the social spectrum. And 2015’s Afternoon- which is a two-plus hour interview between the director and leadman/ main muse Kang-shen. The set is finished off with a few extras.
Tsai Ming-liang was born in Kuching, Malaysia. And to date has forty-seven credits to his name- these take in seventeen features, and thirty shorts/ TV movies to his name. His features move from dark teen romance/psychological drama Rebels Of The Neon God (1992), to absurdist fantasy musical drama The Hole (1998), though to comedy drama Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003), and Abiding Nowhere (2024) a documentary following a monk in a red robe walking through rural and urban landscapes.
Each film gets its own disc- with extras on both. So, on the first disc, we have Days (aka Rizi) the 18th feature-length film from Ming-Liang. It’s from the year 2020- and is built around just forty-six shots- with a runtime of two hours and seven minutes, so as you’d imagine the shorts are very long/ often set, lasting on average two-plus minutes, but some five minutes- so that is something you most definitely have to be ready for. There is also little or no dialogue or formal score.
The film focuses on the lives of two gay men, at either end of the social spectrum- middle-aged Kang (Kang-sheng Lee) lives in a large house overlooked- seemingly very much trapped in a constant state of melancholia. And Non (Anong Houngheuangsy)- who is just past his teen years, and lives in a small city apartment where he sleeps on the floor
The film is based on snapshots of each man's life- for example, we see Kang staring out of a window- as the wind and rain batter trees. Or we see Non preparing his basic food in his small apartment. At about the hour mark the two meet- and we find out that Non is a rent boy, meeting Kang at a plush hotel room. Where he is first massaged, then pleasured- giving the young man his cash payment, as well as a music box that truly enchants Non. Before each man once more goes back to their solitary existence.
As one watches Days it is rather a one-off experience. You have to slow down your thoughts and normal expectations- and get pulled into the tone and mood of each scene/ shot. Looking for subtle changes/details in each scene.
Days managers distil loneliness and day-to-day trudge into film form. The moments of characters' pleasure come as a surprise/ sudden shift in tone—yet interestingly, they do start up subtle adjustments/ shifts in the characters' return to bleak normality.
Days is an arthouse film with a capital A- and really when going into it you have to be ready for that and set your expectations thus.
On this first disc, extra wise, we get a filmed interview with director Tsai Ming-liang (25.56) which is from 2022 and finds him discussing both films featured here, and his retirement. Next, we have Wandering (34.24) a short film regarding figures walking through landscapes and buildings. Lastly, on this disc we have Days Passed: Lee Kang-Sheng Though The Eyes Of Tsai Ming-Liang (3.18) this is a visual essay from Michelle Cho- which is a clever/effective collaging of clips of the actors from the director's films.
Over on disc two, we have 2015’s Afternoon (aka Na Ri Xia Wu)- which is a long-form conversation between filmmaking by director Tsai Ming-liang and actor-director Lee Kang-shen.
It’s filmed as a set shot of the two men sitting in the corner of an unplastered room- to the side of each is an empty window, with greenery flowing in from outside. We later find out that this is a room in a derelict house that the director has recently purchased.
The film runs at two hours and seventeen minutes- and just like Ming-liang's fictional films- it’s very slowly paced, with moments of silence, shifting in chairs, or sipping their drinks. Initially, the pair seem quite awkward at the idea of being filmed- but after a bit of time, they steadily warm up with their conversation.
Kang-shen opens things up by talking about why his feet are yellow- he’s dipped them in sulphur, to try and get rid of Athletes foot. This he says was caused by him walking around barefoot for some time making a production with Tsai Ming-liang. As they move on Tsai Ming-liang talks about health worries- he has high blood pressure and his own mortality. They discuss how they can do anything as a pair, and Tsai Ming-liang says he would be making films without Kang-shen. They talk about their sexuality, if and when they will marry, and what their perfect partner is. They discuss the few times they have had arguments- largely around bad habits like spitting. They touch on places they lived, mentioning the house they are filming in. They talk about films and plays they worked on together, ugly and beautiful people, and more.
As a film Afternoon certainly takes a bit of time to get going- but when it does the conversion is interesting enough- with the key thing you come away with is that Kang-shen is very much the director's main/ key muse. It’s an ok- one watch, though at points, I won’t lie I did find my attention drifting- I’d imagine it would be a better watch if I was more familiar with both the director and actor’s work.
On the final disc, we get an interview between Tsai Ming-liang and film writer/ critic Tony Rayns( one hour and eighteen minutes) this was recorded at 2019’s East Asian Film Festival in Ireland. And as you’d imagine this covers a fair bit of ground.
The set is finished off with a twenty-page inlay booklet- this features a seven-and-a-half-page write-up about the films/ the director's work by So Mayer, as well as stills from the films and full credits.
This two-disc set will most certainly be of interest to those who enjoy arthouse cinema that focuses on the human condition- with a decent selection of extras featured here with the two films.