Meta-filmic Strategies in Tsai Ming-liang and Antonioni

Abstract

The paper discusses comparatively the filmic production of, respectively, Tsai Ming-liang and Michelangelo Antonioni. Antonioni’s teaching is generally considered by critics as fundamental to the work of Tsai. However, a more thorough analysis reveals meaningful differences.

As for Tsai’s whole production, this paper takes into account the structure of the plot,  the traits of different characters alongside the relationships among them, and finally, the way Tsai develops an investigation on the ontology of the filmic image.

Antonioni - himself - also developed a reflection on the nature of the filmic image: he unpacks it, and by so doing, he discloses the blind physicality of the visual medium. On the contrary, Tsai often questions the possibility of recognizing the human featured image as a representation of an individual being.

The research shows it is possible to understand both artistic attitudes by trying out different categories drawn from the Freudian area. As far as Antonioni is regarded, a research hypothesis based on the category of “uncanny” (das Unheimliche) is suggested. In a different way, Tsai lends himself to a hypothesis founded on a certain sublimating tension (Sublimierung) that would innerve his features and their composition.