Spider Lilies (Ci Qing)

Taiwan, 2007, 94 min
Directed by Zero Chou
Cast: Rainie Yang, Isabella Leong, John Shen, Jay Shih
Mandarin and Japanese, English Subtitles
25.6, 17:00

Winner of the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival for Best Queer Film. According to an ancient Japanese legend, spider lilies grow along the path leading to hell, poisoning the memories of all who smell them. Takeko, a tattoo artist, keeps a framed drawing of the flower on her studio wall, copied off her dead father's body, who had died in an earthquake. The tattoo is Takeko's last memory of her father, as well as the only thing that connects her to her brother, who was traumatized in that earthquake and no longer recognizes his sister. One day Jade arrives at the studio, and Takeko's world changes instantly. Jade is a girl who lives with her grandmother and makes her living selling cyber-sex. She falls in love with the mysterious artist, and in order to get closer to her, Jade asks her to paint the framed drawings hanging at the entrance to the store. The closeness created between the two opens a Pandora's Box of tragic memories from their childhood. This is the second feature from lesbian activist directress Zero Chou, who exposes a sensual visual style loaded with a variety of emotions.