Nail (2003)

In a country with a notoriously fraught political past and precarious future, why does Long-Shan Temple exert such mesmeric powers over such diverse groups of Taiwanese people? What do they find here? Why do scores of local chars volunteer their domestic services to the Temple's upkeep, maintaining an immaculately scrubbed appearance for public view? The documentary, shot in monochrome, attempts to capture the essence of this district, presenting realist and experimental images in a frantic collage that reflects the golden, slightly frayed soul of this proletariat's utopia.