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Introduction

Taiwan, Singapore, France / 2024 / 128 min
Director：CHIANG Wei Liang
Co-Director：YIN You Qiao

Oom is a young illegal immigrant from Thailand and works as a carer for the elderly and people with disabilities in a rural mountain village in Taiwan. Working for his boss who unlawfully employs illegal immigrants from various Southeast Asian countries, Oom is often caught between the boss and immigrants as the middleman. One day, an elderly woman at the care home asks for his advice about her son with a heavy disability… The film excludes as much explanation as possible, using careful brushstrokes to delicately illustrate the hopelessly miserable conditions of the migrant workers living in arguably a modern-day slavery, and the nature of the exploitation system constructed by underworld powers in a hierarchy even higher than their immediate bosses. The masterfully controlled pictorial compositions inside and outside the frame, and the rhythmic coordination of the editing without fearing long silences are excellent. The film has reached an impressive degree of perfection for a first feature film. Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Liao Ching-sung (longtime editor of Hou's films) joined the project as Executive Producers. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight and won a Special Mention of Caméra d'Or for debut feature film.

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