Rebels of the Neon God

Rebels of the Neon God (青少年哪吒, 1994) is the debut feature from Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang, a crime drama you can watch online on iFILM. Teenager Hsiao-kang walks out on his cram-school exams and starts drifting through the rain-soaked, neon-lit streets of nighttime Taipei.

His path keeps crossing that of Ah-tze (Chen Chao-jung), a petty thief who pries circuit boards out of arcade machines, and the girl who tags along with him. Fascination, envy and a low-burning anger push Hsiao-kang to shadow the pair across the city. Tsai films Taipei from its leaking, flooded underside: clogged drains, damp apartments, long stretches with almost no dialogue. The characters barely speak, yet the loneliness seeps through every empty frame. This is also where Lee Kang-sheng, Tsai's lifelong leading man, first showed up on screen. Slow, hypnotic, and built for anyone who loves Asian art-house cinema. Stream Rebels of the Neon God (1994) online on iFILM.