‘Have you got nothing better to do after dinner?’: Rebels of the Neon God opens with a mother’s scolding. Escaping from the banality of cram school, Hsiao Kang encounters the delinquent Tsz and is inexplicably attracted to his reckless lifestyle. Besides the pensive Hsiao Kang, Tsz is also followed by the forlorn Kuei, who seeks to alleviate her malaise through their liaison.

In his first foray as a feature film director, Tsai Ming-liang captures the alienation of youth without casting judgement. Under Tsai’s lens, Taipei hoodlums of the 1990s turn into rebels without a cause.

Tsai Ming-liang (b. 1957, Malaysia) is one of the most celebrated directors of Taiwanese cinema today. His films have regularly competed and won awards at Venice, Berlin and Cannes Film Festivals, including Vive L’Amour (1994), The River (1997), What Time Is It There? (2001), Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003), I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone (2006), Face (2009), Stray Dogs (2013), and Days (2020).