Episode 396: THE HOLE (1998)

There’s a hole in the floor of an apartment in Taipei. It’s an absolute mess for the occupant and his downstairs neighbor. Though they’ve never really met, they discover each other through their awkward circumstance, with each episode inspiring irritation, which turns into hatred, which turns into… Well, you’ll have to see the movie.

Tsai Ming-liang wrote and directed THE HOLE as an experiment, bringing his vision of the year 2000 to the screen. Instead of going sci-fi or hard dystopian, it depicts a society where people live so close, and in such harsh conditions, that they can’t even yearn properly.

Give to these causes in need during ICE’s occupation of Minnesota:

https://mn50501.org/donate

Support Minnesotans defending their communities from ICE: https://www.standwithminnesota.com/

@sanctuarysupplydepot: Mutual aid group in Mpls getting basic necessities to our houseless neighbors https://linktr.ee/sanctuarysupplydepot

@mplsmutualaid: Clearinghouse of mutual aid for our neighbors: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid

ISAIAH, an interfaith group fighting for racial and economic justice in MN: https://secure.everyaction.com/G8TCnxFlE0qd9zlUEYjjeg2

Show love to North Minneapolis families in crisis: https://www.gofundme.com/f/show-love-to-north-minneapolis-families-in-crisis

References:

“A Sentimental Journey Through the Films of Tsai Ming Liang” by Cole Seidl for Perisphere, the Trylon blog: https://www.perisphere.org/2026/08/07/a-sentimental-journey-through-the-films-of-tsai-ming-liang/

“An interview with Tsai Ming-liang, director of The Hole” by David Walsh for World Socialist Web Site (October 7, 1998): https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1998/10/tsai-o07.html