Love Is Forever: The World’s Most Lonesome Three Men and Women Play Hide-and-Seek — Main Poster Released Ahead of Aug. 12 Theatrical Release!

Taiwan’s New Wave master director Chai Ming-liang’s masterpiece 〈Love Is Forever〉 has unveiled its main poster and confirmed an Aug. 12 release, alongside Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang. 〈Love Is Forever〉 is a work depicting the overlapping lives of three men and women who come in and out of Taipei’s empty apartment without knowing each other’s existence, a masterpiece that quickly propelled director Chai into the center of global cinema. It won the top Golden Lion for Best Film at the 51st Venice International Film Festival in 1994. In the same year, at the Golden Horse Awards, it swept three categories—best film, best director, and best sound effects. That the award’s nominees included Edward Yang of 〈In Our Time〉, Wang Kar-wai of 〈Chungking Express〉, and Stanley Kwan of 〈Red Rose, White Rose〉 makes the glory of the win all the more apparent. A Malay-born filmmaker who has worked in Taiwan, Chai Ming-liang is a world-renowned auteur who has focused on the loneliness of individuals living in a big city, with a near-silent style that uses fewer lines and long takes that stretch on.

The main poster released shows a woman lying on a bed, wearing her street clothes. Messy black hair, strong lipstick, a green jacket, and hands gently clasped—her figure, unable to change her clothes and simply lying there on the bed, conveys the city’s exhaustion and solitude. Her eyes and gestures, which feel empty yet as if she longs for something, capture the film’s core emotional tone in full.

The poster’s star is Yang Gui-mei as real-estate agent “Mei Lin,” who won the Golden Horse best leading actress for 〈Dawn Returns〉 (2005). She also appeared in director Ang Lee’s 〈Eat Drink Man Woman〉 (1994) the same year, and she has continued to feature in director Chai Ming-liang’s works such as 〈The Hole〉 (1998) and 〈Goodbye, Dragon Inn〉 (2003), maintaining a long-running collaboration with the director. In 〈Love Is Forever〉, she expressed the weight of urban loneliness with nothing but her body and her gaze. In particular, the long-take scene that caps the film’s ending remains a standout sequence still discussed among cinephiles around the world.