Tsai Ming-liang emerged on the world cinema scene in 1992 with his first, groundbreaking feature, REBELS OF THE NEON GOD. His debut already includes a handful of elements familiar to fans of subsequent work: a deceptively spare style often branded “minimalist”; actor Lee Kang-sheng as the silent and sullen Hsiao-kang; copious amounts of water, whether pouring from the sky or bubbling up from a clogged drain; and enough urban anomie to ensure that even the subtle humor in evidence is tinged with pathos.

The loosely structured plot involves Hsiao-kang, a despondent cram school student, who becomes obsessed with young petty thief Ah-tze, after Ah-tze smashes the rearview mirror of a taxi driven by Hsiao-kang’s father. Hsiao-kang stalks Ah-tze and his buddy Ah-ping as they hang out in the film’s iconic arcade (featuring a telling poster of James Dean on the wall) and other locales around Taipei, and ultimately takes his revenge.

REBELS OF THE NEON GOD is a remarkably impressive first film that hints at the promise of its director. Though showing such diverse influences as the French New Wave, Wong Kar-wai’s early films—and, yes, Rebel Without a Cause—Tsai’s film is most remarkable for introducing his startlingly unique vision to world cinema.

Nominated for Best Leading Actress (Yu-Wen Wang), Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay at the Golden Horse Film Festival

Winner of Best Feature Film at the Torino International Festival of Young Cinema

“A near-masterpiece…as close as contemporary filmmaking gets to the essence of poetry.” — Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, Chicago Reader

“The creation of a wildly original artist coming into his own…feels alive with possibility…marks the start of one of modern cinema’s great careers.“ — A.O. Scott, New York Times