From the beginning, Tsai Ming-liang has been recognized as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary film — praise quickly reflected by the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion for VIVE L’AMOUR (1994), only his second theatrical feature. Countless other accolades would follow, but even as Tsai’s influence proved formative on a new breed of contemplative cinema, he’s continued to walk his own path, crafting a unique oeuvre of wry humor, haunting stillness, queer desires, and urban anomie.