Murmur of Youth

Lin Cheng-sheng's 1997 Taiwanese film follows two young women who share a name. One drops out of university and starts selling tickets at a cinema; the other joins her in the same booth, and they spend long hours in a narrow space. The subject is the closeness that forms inside that booth. Both are worn down by their families; the narrative ties the bond between them to no explanation and gives the desire through silences, touches and looks. It belongs to the second generation of the Taiwanese New Wave. The camera is mostly static, the scenes long and the dialogue sparse. The narrative also records the family life; the two women's homes are entirely unalike. Who it's for: those who like Taiwanese cinema and quiet drama with queer themes. Who it's not for: viewers expecting explicitness; the film never names the relationship.