In the 1960s, as television broadcasting took hold in Taiwan, the government vigorously promoted Mandarin-language films while imposing strict censorship on Taiwanese-language cinema. This led to the gradual decline of a once-thriving industry. Fifty years later, Chung, a young YouTuber, discovers a box of his grandfather’s belongings. He’s shocked to discover that his grandpa was a famous and beloved Taiwanese-language director. Yet this past seems to be a family taboo, avoided even by Chung’s mother.
Chien Chia-Cheng’s comic reminds us that once the chance to restore old films is lost, they may vanish forever. Through meticulous research and deeply moving storytelling, Chien explores the meaning of film restoration while vividly bringing the streets of 1960s Taiwan back to life. Do unspoken regrets simply fade with a life, or can they be confronted and preserved through memory and art?