Robinson's Crusoe

Successful real estate salesman Robinson is something of a loner; having returned to Taiwan from the US (where his family remains), he lives in hotel rooms, hangs out a little with his workmates, and conducts a half-hearted affair with his girlfriend. He dreams of buying a small private island - Crusoe - in the Caribbean. Not a great deal happens in Lin's study of solitude and disenchantment, but thanks to the astute precision of the performances, the subtle script, and the beautifully understated mise-en-scène, we learn an immense amount not only about the protagonist's personality and mindset, but about the social, political and cultural forces that have helped shape them. By and large the film avoids the insistently taciturn melancholy that can afflict such depictions of alienation and fecklessness. There's a wit and warmth here that make Robinson very much a flesh and blood creation, engaging enough to earn our sympathy as well as our interest.