Showing @ Cineworld, Edinburgh Sun 22 & Sun 29 Jun
Tsai Ming-liang / Taiwan/France / 2013 / 138 mins
Stray Dogs is the cinematic equivalent of one of those pictures that create the shape of a word using negative space. Director Tsai Ming-liang has filled in the gaps but left the narrative itself out. It’s an intriguing method but can also be a frustratingly abstract one. The film centres on a father (Lee Kang-sheng) and his two young children as they eke out a transient existence on the streets of an unnamed city. Several women drift through their lives in ambiguous roles but it is interesting to note that the adult characters are generally not seen to interact with each other.
The fact that the children are able to converse and ask questions (occasionally the very inquiries the viewer is longing to make) means they also function as the audience’s link to this urban dystopia. It’s not conventionally photogenic but the camera’s lingering gaze turns every speck of dust and unshaven hair into a focal point. Tsai is clearly not aiming to make conventional films and obviously directors are entitled to their artistic vision. However, the substantial running time feels indulgent when, for example, a single shot of two characters’ faces as they view a picture lasts no less than ten minutes. It is a daring strategy but one that risks alienating all but the most passionate cinephiles.
Showing as part of Edinburgh International Film Festival 2014