When his previous feature “Stray Dogs” premiered in 2013 at the Venice International Film Festival, Tsai Ming-Liang hinted that he was thinking of retiring from making feature films. For a while he produced mostly smaller-scaled, works in various formats, including an excursion into VR and a documentary. But luckily for us, he didn’t follow through or “Days” his latest film would have never seen the light. “Days” premiered at the 2020 Berlinale where it won the jury Teddy Award.

The story follows two men, Kang & Non, for a few days in their lives. Kang is a middle-class man who lives in a big house in the countryside and visits the city to seek help with a medical problem. Non, a young guy, lives in a small apartment in the city where he works at a market stand. We see them going their own way until Kang arranges for a massage and their paths cross. This encounter forms the central event of the film, laying bare questions of human vulnerability, (homo)sexuality and our struggle to connect with others. As such, it radiates a surprising feeling of gentleness and frailty. Afterwards, when they each return to their own world, the question remains if the encounter will leave a lasting impression.

“Days” is build up in a similar minimalistic style as for instance “Stray Dogs”. The static camera registers the action, and without real dialogue or voice-over, it is left to the viewer to interpret the story of the two men. Shots are long and progress slowly, even during the pivotal massage/sex scene. This gives the viewer ample time to look around and make sense of what is going on, but also to take in the mis-en-scene. The style Tsai Ming-Liang uses is reminiscent of documentaries, observing without explanation, as we also see in the films of, for instance, Wang Bing. However, Tsai Ming-Liang’s touch is a lot softer as his aim is not to document some political injustice but to show us fragments of the main characters’ lives, and the very personal experience of having sex at the core. Also, the scenes are based on a script and contrary to documentaries, the camera & crew do not exist in this filmed world. This implies that Kang and Non are unaware of being filmed, which in the early scenes is amplified by filming through a window, a gate or behind the bars of a staircase, for instance. It makes the viewer feel as some sort of voyeur, looking into the private lives of the protagonists.

This feeling of voyeurism is enhanced by two scenes where the camera, that is static in the rest of the film, does move. In the first scene we follow Kang in the city’s small back alleys. The handheld camera moves jerkily, giving the scene a claustrophobic rushed feeling, as if we are following him without wanting him to notice. In the other scene, the feeling is the complete opposite. During the massage sequence, the camera movements are hardly noticeable, and the impression is more that of wanting to frame the shots perfectly, of not wanting to miss a gesture or emotion. It feels as if there is someone else in the room watching them, and that can only be the viewer.

As for the dialogue it is stated at the beginning of the film that it is intentionally unsubtitled. However, there is no need to worry. Dialogue is sparse and even without subtitling it is easy to understand the gist of what is said and that is more than enough to follow the story. With regards to the sound design itself, sounds often come from outside penetrating the scene: sounds of rain, nature, of the busy streets. These scenes, such as two scenes introducing the protagonists, emphasize their isolation and loneliness. In the central part of the story there is hardly any sound at all, during the massage only the hum of the air-conditioning can be heard. As for music there is none, apart from the theme of Chaplin’s “Limelight”, a nice fit referencing a film that deals with similar themes of ageing and vulnerability.

This all puts a lot of pressure on the actors. Lee Kang-sheng who portrays Kang is no stranger for fans of Tsai Ming-Liang’s films as he appeared in all of them, even the smaller projects. He’s a perfect match to play Kang, his own physical ailments reverberating throughout the movie, and partly at the root of its conception. Anong Houngheuangsy is the new kid in town, but he is a match for the acting veteran and delivers a subdued but touching performance.

All in all, “Days” is a gripping film that poses questions about relationships, sexuality and health, but most of all about solitude and loneliness. On top of that its slow but stunning shots are a feast for the eye, leaving the viewer with the desire to revisit.