"Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land" (1992)

The movie is Taiwan's celebrated theater director and playwright Stan Lai's first foray into filmmaking, and the stage play of the same name, which debuted in 1986, is still playing today. The story, starring Brigitte Lin, King Shih-Chieh and Ku Pao-Ming, tells of two drama companies sharing one auditorium while they rehearse for separate shows. Friction is inevitable. The first company rehearses for 'Secret Love,' a sad romantic drama with a contemporary setting in Shanghai and Taipei, while the other works on "Peach Blossom Land," a comedy in medieval costume set in a rural village.

Lai masterfully melds the two plays and creates many layers, ultimately transcending culture, time and place. Though different in all aspects, the two crews tell the same story: the story of people forced to leave home and the universally-felt longing for one's home. This spectacular avant-garde film, a unique hybrid between film and stage, is a gem of Asian cinema and a modern classic for its timeless themes and originality.

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