Chung Mong-hong: An American Cinematheque Retrospective

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is thrilled to welcome award-winning Taiwanese filmmaker Chung Mong-hong in-person for a curated retrospective featuring many of his acclaimed works, including the U.S. premiere of his newest film, THE EMBERS. Director Chung’s oeuvre consists of genre-bending films distinguished by gripping plots, nuanced performances, and poetic cinematography. From psychological horror to crime saga, Chung explores the recurring themes of violence, memory, and reconciliation with a distinctive style.

Beginning his career as a documentarian, director Chung’s first feature-length film, DOCTOR follows the life and perseverance of a doctor coming to terms with his son’s suicide. Chung later returns to this story with THE FOURTH PORTRAIT, a narrative film inspired and informed by the events portrayed in the documentary. In PARKING, Chung reveals the mysterious unpredictability of contemporary existence in a work simultaneously grounded, yet undeniably absurdist, presenting a simple task of marital duty as one riddled with numerous obstacles and no discernable path forward towards a happy life. GODSPEED turns the crime genre on its head, employing a darkly-comedic tone to foster the space for a humanist story characterized by tragedy, violence and alienation. An epic that examines the fragmentation of a single Taiwanese family, A SUN, delicately portrays the presence of trauma in familial relationships, and approaches its protagonists with compassion and vulnerability.

Director Chung’s first significant foray into genre filmmaking, SOUL, delves into the psychological realm of horror and mystery. He later returns to the psychological domain with his pandemic-era drama THE FALLS, which is simultaneously tender and disquieting as it portrays the volatile relationship between a mother and daughter to represent the uncertainties and anxieties of life post-pandemic. In addition to appearing in-person for his own films, director Chung will introduce Jim Jarmusch’s offbeat tribute to outsiders, STRANGER THAN PARADISE, for the American Cinematheque’s ongoing ‘Sunday Print Edition’ series.

Thank you to our official airline sponsor China Airlines.