Last Year When the Train Passed by

What goes on behind the windows you see flashing past when you’re traveling? Film student Huang Pang-Chuan went looking for the answer. He visited the residents of houses he’d photographed from the train a year before and asked what they’d been doing at the moment the photo was taken.

This produces moving, dramatic and sometimes comical stories: about loss, sadness, love and hope, of people trying to build a life and give meaning to the things that happen to them. The film also says something about the workings of memory and the tragedy of constant change that is life, not to mention the resilience of people who keep persevering after apparently insurmountable events.

The commentary, the nostalgic-looking photos, the poetic images and the compelling soundtrack carry us towards an enthralling climax.