Dear Tenant + Katthveli Book Club: Film, Stills, Stories & Composition
2021 / 112 mins / Subtitles available
Directed by: Yu-Chieh Cheng
Language / Country : Mandarin, Taiwanese / Taiwan
In everyone’s eyes, Mr. Lin is a decent guy. The handsome piano teacher not only looks after his landlord, Mrs. Chou, an elderly grandmother with late-stage diabetes, but also takes care of her orphaned nine-year-old grandson, Yo-yu. But when Mrs. Chou passes away, Yo-yu’s uncle, Li-gang, returns from overseas to discover that Lin has adopted Yo-yu, now the legal owner of the apartment.
Suspecting that Lin murdered his mother to take control of her property, Li-gang contacts the police, igniting an investigation that uncovers a very different side to the seemingly perfect tenant…
Content warnings : Infrequent strong sex
The film includes a recorded Katthveli Book Club conversation with writer/director Cheng Yu-Chieh after the virtual cinema premiere of the film DEAR TENANT. Katthveli Book Club presents how the director composes each frame through the newly published Still Photography Book and traces back to the story ideas.
What we love about this film
A raw and powerful drama which depicts the complexities of inheritance within a family and the conflict that comes with it. While conveying the lack of acceptance and understanding for LGBTQ relationships. The film also spoils us with panoramic shots of the beautiful Taiwanese mountains including the incredibly stunning glimpses of Taiwan.
In the press
"Dear Tenant then, is a powerful statement on the evolution of family, and the need to adapt to the changing times, and how there’s still a long way to go before Taiwan truly encapsulates love, acceptance and understanding for all people, regardless of sexuality. "
Bakchormeeboy
"Dear Tenant” is eloquent, elegant and meaningful storytelling, and the final scene is marvelous. "
The Mercury News
"Dear Tenant” emerges as a great effort, a film that manages to work on a number of levels, through a multi-leveled narrative that is both entertaining and communicates a number of comments in the most excellent fashion."
Asian Movie Pulse
