Yen And Ai-Lee - English subtitled
Moving Taiwanese black-and-white film about domestic violence and a mother-daughter relationship scarred by the past. Awarded at film festivals in Busan and Taipei.
After serving eight years in prison for killing her abusive father, Yen returns to her hometown in Kaohsiung to reconcile with her past and her mother. Amidst Yen trying to work things out, Ai-Lee, a mysterious acting student who bears an uncanny resemblance to Yen, wanders around the city. As their fates intertwine and a shared secret comes to light, Yen and her mother are forced to confront buried truths.
Captured in evocative black-and-white cinematography, Yen And Ai-Lee is centred around a mother and daughter navigating their complex, conflicting emotions in the shadow of shared trauma. Led by a Golden Horse-winning performance by Kuei-Mei Yang, the film is a portrait of troubled love and people trying to return to their lives while being scarred by the past, told with much depth and nuanced vulnerability.