Terrorizers

The way this film is shot and edited in such an unconventional and disorienting way makes it one of the most rewarding films to rewatch because you are always picking up on something new. Yang puts us in a world where we are completely spatially disoriented. The only landmark in the film to latch onto is the pair of water towers visible from the photographer's apartment/studio. Time is also disorienting in the film. Sometimes it seems to take place over a few days, but other times it seems to be a few weeks or months. Some scenes are cut together to imply that they take place at the same time, when in reality, they actually don't take place at the same time. Obviously, Yang is tuned into the information capitalism and consumer culture of the 1980's. The way he films Taipei is very similar to how Mann would film LA in Heat 9 years later. But with Terrorizers, Yang has an almost casual curiosity towards the city and the world. There are several instances where he decides to cut away from what is going on to focus on a close-up of an object, such as a phone, some books, or curtains blowing in the wind.