Sep 30 2022
Stray Dogs

Stray Dogs

Presented by Harvard Film Archive at Harvard Film Archive

In his first feature-length venture into digital filmmaking, Tsai expands upon the durational extremes of his monk-led Walker series to observe a different kind of stasis within the frantic modern world: that of a homeless sign holder and his two starving children. Played by Lee Kang-sheng in a performance of hauntingly composed agony, Tsai’s protagonist plies his demeaning trade for a luxury high-rise development, enduring wind, rain and the indifferent masses for a measly pittance that falls short of putting food on the table for his family. For its first half, Stray Dogs offers an embittered slice of social realism as it intercuts between this man’s thankless toil and his children’s desperate wanderings through the alternately sterile and decrepit heart of contemporary Taipei, only periodically benefiting from the generosity of strangers. In its final stretch, however, the film’s seemingly linear timeline disintegrates, and the story relocates to a decomposing underground bunker where a surreal portrait of domesticity and family intimacy emerges. Is it the future, the past, or the imagination? A radically contemplative finale suggests such a question is beside the point, as the longing for another, more just world is as timeless as destitution.

Admission Info

$10 / $8 student or senior / Harvard students free

Phone: 617-496-3211

Email: bgravely@fas.harvard.edu

Dates & Times

2022/09/30 - 2022/09/30

Location Info

Harvard Film Archive

Harvard Film Archive Cinematheque, Cambridge, MA 02138

Parking Info

Although parking in Cambridge is difficult (most of the surrounding streets have restricted parking for Cambridge residents only), metered parking on Broadway and Harvard Streets, as well as the rest of Harvard Square, is free after 8pm. Film-goers are encouraged to use public transportation, particularly the MBTA Red Line.

Accessibility Info

This film is subtitled