With his trademark wit, playwright-turned-director Stan Lai's first feature film is a Brechtian-infused exploration of nationhood, storytelling, and the art of theater. Two troupes––one rehearsing a poignant historical drama about politics and lost love, the other prepping a bumptious xiangsheng (crosstalk) comedy––have reserved the same
theater on the same night. Despite bickering with each other (never allowing the emotion of the scenes they're rehearsing to reach their peak), the themes of the plays overlap and intertwine at unexpected moments. Cinematography by Christopher Doyle. With Brigitte Lin. A selection of New Directors / New Films 1993.