Mortuary cosmetologist Min-Hsiu helps families find solace in making the deceased beautiful again. But when a body from a suicide turns out to be her old high school music teacher CHEN Ting, buried teenage memories are stirred. Min-Hsiu is forced to confront her own past when CHEN’s husband, NIE, seeks information about his wife’s history. But a washed-up detective suspects there’s more to the case so he hires Min-Hsiu to uncover the truth behind CHEN and NIE’s relationship.

Director LIEN’s debut is a stylish mystery drama involving a suspicious death, alongside the taboo subjects of funeral practices and student-teacher relationships. The film, which came out in 2010, foresaw the rise of the suspense genre in Taiwanese cinema, which has grown in popularity in recent years. LIEN builds an eerie and unsettling atmosphere using canted angles and contrasting color schemes that shift between warm and cold. Flashback scenes and imagined conversations between Min-Hsiu and the deceased CHEN gradually reveal the narrative’s dark secrets.


Available Formats: DVD, Blu-ray and DCP