The Falls

A mother and daughter are shut into the same apartment by a pandemic quarantine. Xiao Jing is away from school and her mother Pin-wen is about to lose her job. Being confined does not close the distance between them; it makes it visible. Then the mother's condition changes and the daughter's role inverts: the one being cared for becomes the carer. Chung Mong-hong uses the pandemic as leverage rather than subject. The real matter is mental illness, economic collapse, and the responsibility a teenager is made to carry. The director also shot the film himself, and a blue building tarpaulin is its most memorable visual motif. It premiered at Venice in September 2021. At the 58th Golden Horse Awards it won Best Narrative Feature, Best Leading Actress for Alyssa Chia, Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score, and it was Taiwan's submission to the 94th Academy Awards. Who it's for: Viewers who like domestic drama, narratives centred on mental health, and Taiwanese cinema. Who it's not for: The plot shifts genre in the final stretch, and not everyone finds that turn convincing. The pace also stays slow for a long time.