Before he made arguably one of the greatest films of the 21st century, the social epic Yi Yi, Edward Yang was a hardworking auteur intent on demonstrating the beauty of his home of Taiwan. His films have risen to the point of being cinematic hallmarks, and definitive moments in Asian filmmaking. I recently, based on a recommendation from a close friend, decided to watch one of his earlier films, Terrorizers (Chinese:       恐怖分子 or Kǒngbù Fènzǐ), his fourth directorial effort in as many years. Needless to say, if there was any doubt in my mind that Yang was one of the greatest cinematic artists of our time, it has been completely obliterated after seeing this film. Terrorizers is a staggering masterpiece, a film that left me entirely aghast at its unparalleled beauty and distinguished gracefulness. An astonishing achievement that soars above any expectations I had going into it.

Terrorizers is about a few different individuals going about their daily routines in Taipei, living seemingly unrelated lives. Li Lizhong (Lee Li-chun) is a doctor at the local hospital who, after the untimely death of his superior, tries to prove himself as the best person to occupy the vacant position. His wife, Zhou Yufen (Cora Miao) is a novelist who is struggling with severe depression and debilitating writer’s block that renders her unmotivated to write, relying on the world around her to incite some inspiration. Meanwhile, not too far from them lurks a mysterious young woman (Wang An), who is involved with a violent youth gang terrorizing the city. Finally, a young photographer (Ma Shao-chun) travails his city, trying to make sense of his own personal crises, brought on by his inability to make a career, his impending draft into the military and his girlfriend ending their relationship, by trying to capture his city in all of its complex beauty. These individuals don’t know that their lives will soon be intersecting in various ways, encountering each other through chance or through association, and unleashing a philosophical hailstorm of existential angst as they all try to find their place in a hostile world.

This is an extremely simple film in terms of the story it tells, and part of what makes it effective is how the performances elevate it. Terrorizers consists of a small but powerful cast of actors playing these major roles, interpreting Yang’s gorgeous story with tact and nuance. The standouts are Lee Li-chun, as the doctor who sees his well-ordered life unraveling – the position he worked hard for and was all but assured to belong to him – ends up being given to someone else. His wife is distant, both emotionally and eventually physically, with her own insecurities causing a divide in their marriage until she eventually leaves him for her former lover. Li Lizhong’s life starts to fall apart, and he begins to quite his own values, especially in the final act, where he very strategically sets in motion a plan that may give him the retribution he desires, but won’t fulfill him in any way, and eventually leads to his own downfall. Ma Shao-chan is the other performer of interest, playing the young and ambitious photographer trying to capture the raw beauty of a city ravaged in a plague of crime and unhappiness. Ma is excellent, imbuing his performance with youthful naivety and scrappy determination, creating a character who is hopelessly trying in vain to forge a path for himself, but eventually has to admit that success just doesn’t come to everyone, and sometimes there is no shame in simply retreating from what appeared to be our destiny and returning to the solace of home.

I am exceptionally fond of “city films”, movies that present the audience with a snapshot of a particular city at a certain moment in time. Cinema has always been quite adept at showing the truthfulness that lurks beneath a cityscape, right from Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera throughout cinematic history, with directors like Federico Fellini, Alain Resnais, Mike Leigh, Woody Allen and countless other presenting us with urban cityscapes of unquestionable beauty and complexity, from which there is very little palpable escape. Terrorizers sees Yang presenting in Taipei in a very similar way, as a complex urban landscape filled with thousands of stories, of which this film tells a few, all of which intersect in a complex but beautiful representation of life in a city that can be either hostile or welcoming, depending on one’s perspective. Yang does now show Taipei as traditionally beautiful – it is often shown as squalid, ravaged in crime and chaotic, with the inhabitants being indifferent to the plight of those around them. Yet, there is a stark beauty that stands out, with the hidden grandiosity of this city comes to the fore. Yang finds a delicate balance in how he portrays the city, and while it is often gritty and unsettling, it has a subversive magnificence that could only be achieved through the lens of an artist as supremely gifted as him.

Yet, we cannot just view Terrorizers as a film that portrays a city and a few of the people that inhabit it, because that would be ignoring perhaps the most profound theme that pervades this film: that is emotional dislocation in a familiar physical location. Terrorizers is about a few people in their daily individual pursuits interacting through ways that are almost entirely by chance and can have either positive or negative ramifications on their lives. These individuals feel alienated from the world around them, and Yang conjures up this sympathetic isolation through an episodic portrayal of the lives of these individuals, who are not related in any way other than through their mutual dissatisfaction with life and their drive to somehow find a sense of belonging in a world that feels so unwelcoming to them and their personal quandaries. These characters lack both motivation and direction, and their choices are perhaps not the most moral – yet, they are indicative of the inherent drive human beings have to survive and make the most out of less-than-ideal situations. Terrorizers does not evade the concept of consequences, and these characters have to bear the brunt of their choices – all of this works towards making Terrorizers a complex, nuanced character study. It is a film where time seemingly does not exist, as evident by these characters being lost, whether literally or metaphorically. They try and make sense of the world around them, yet they face relentless failure.

Terrorizers is an astonishing film, not only in terms of the narrative but also in terms of the visual aesthetic. The cinematography throughout this film is unlike anything I have ever seen in this kind of movie, with the camera capturing moments that alternate between small and intimate, to broadly grandiose. Much like the narrative contained within it, the cinematography in Terrorizers is brooding, intense and complex. The camera often lingers a moment too long, meditating on a certain image and leaving an indelible impression on the mind of the viewer. The use of color – especially the deep, saturated red – evokes strong, visceral reactions and stirs memories of previous heartbreaks and betrayals that we had to experience. The cinematography adds more emotional impact, and while the story is exceptionally strong on its own, it is only bolstered by the visual impact lent to it by the unwaveringly profound camera work of Chang Chan.

I would be profoundly misleading you if I said that Edward Yang was anything short of a visionary, and with Terrorizers, he provides a profoundly brilliant work, a masterful character study that takes the audience into the underbelly of Taipei, showing us the lives of ordinary people who connect in extraordinary, unexpected ways. It is a marvelous film, one that makes a true impact and evokes serious thought. The cast is fantastic, and they interpret the story well, is deeply dedicated to the challenges that come with such a film. As a whole, Terrorizers is a towering achievement of Asian filmmaking, a meaningful social drama that looks at life and existence and all the uncertainty that comes with it. Terrorizers is a moving film and one that has stuck with me heavily since I watched it. It is an unforgettable, brilliant masterwork and enough proof to exemplify Edward Yang’s exceptional talents and place as one of the great storytellers of his time.