HAN Shuen-Yun, a 60-year-old woman, retires from an administrative position at a university. Unmarried, she lives with her mother in an old hillside community that is facing relocation. As both her siblings are married and have emigrated to the US, HAN takes on the responsibility of caring for her mother, making her susceptible to her mother’s emotional blackmail. They torture each other, yet they need each other. HAN should have started a new chapter in life like other retirees, but she is stuck in a toxic loop that sees no end.

Set against Taiwan’s aging society, family moral drama Cloudy (2017) is told from a female perspective and revolves around two women who have devoted their whole life to their family. Shuen-Yun and her mother’s way of life truthfully reflect the style of living of Mainland immigrants and baby boomers, and family relationships in Chinese society. Images are subtle and realistic. As the two women’s lives unfold in detail, the suffocating air between mother and daughter thickens, leading to a story that is not only heartbreaking but heartwarming.

Available Formats: DVD, Blu-ray and DCP