- Original Story
- YANG Ya-Che, CHIANG Yu-Chu
- Scriptwriter
- YANG Ya-Che, CHIANG Yu-Chu
- Cinematography
- CHEN Ko-Chin
- Editor
- CHEN Chun-Hung
- Composer
- Hans CHANG, Fabian CHANG
- Art Director
- Y.C. KUO, CHU Yu-Chi
- Costume Designer
- Zoey SU, Yu-Yun LIN
- Sound Designer
- TU Duu-Chih, CHIANG Yi-Chen
The Chronicles of Libidoists
- Director
- YANG Ya-Che
- Country
- Taiwan
- Year
- 2024
- Genre
- Drama, Romance
- Status
- Completed
- Duration
- 105 min
- Language
- Mandarin
- Cast
- Kang-Ren WU, Chu-Ping LIU, Alisia LIANG, Will OR
From the acclaimed director Yang Ya-che (Blue Gate Crossing; Girlfriend, Boyfriend) comes a cinematic exploration of love and longing in the neon-soaked streets of Taipei.
In a daring reimagining of "The Little Mermaid," Yang introduces us to a world where the mermaid is not a woman but a young boy, setting the stage for a journey that defies expectations and stereotypes. This is a tale of four souls, each lost in their quest for sexual fulfillment, yet bound by a common yearning for something purer, something that might resemble love.
Meet Lu, a trans female haunted by an incomplete sense of womanhood, chasing the elusive high of a transformative ecstasy. Her best friend, Queenie, is a wealthy heiress entangled in an arranged engagement to a gay man, seeking solace in the intricate ties of kinbaku. Their lives intersect with a heartbroken dom from Hong Kong, adrift in the city and nursing a lost love, and Single Pa (portrayed by Golden Horse Best Actor Wu Kang-ren), a culinary enthusiast and former romance writer, struggling to mend the fractures in his family life.
This film is a bold statement on the complexities of intimacy, identity, and the desperate search for connection in a disconnected world. The characters' paths converge in a climax that promises to leave audiences breathless, as the underbelly of Taipei's sex scene becomes the backdrop for a revelation of their intertwined destinies.
• London East Asia Film Festival 2024