Taipei Exchanges (2010)

Recommended

Taiwan

Feature Film

Original Title: 第36個故事

Writer/Director: Hsiao Ya-chuan

Cinematographer: Lin Tse-chung

Composers: Ho Zhi-Jian, Summer Lei

Cast: Kwai Lun-mei, Lin Zaizai, Chang Han, Kosuke Atari, Ma Yuli

Whimsical, delicate, and generally quite lovely, Hsiao’s gentle second feature depicts a year in the life of a pair of young sisters from Taipei, following the progress of their first joint business venture, an eccentric coffee shop, which has the gimmick of lining its walls with odd bits of bric-a-brac that can be exchanged for similar items or those of a more ephemeral nature, as they gradually discover who they are and where their dreams lie. Iain.Stott