One last bullet, one new life — which trigger gets pulled?
A professional hit-man is hired to take out a target -- however, his girlfriend’s pregnancy gives him second thoughts. He decides that after this job, he will renounce his profession and turn himself in. This is the first feature film from Taiwanese director Alex Yang, who participated in script-writing and production on Edward Yang's early films. "The Trigger" has echoes of Yang's "Mahjong." The actors in the film, except for veteran Ngai Man-Yin, are all new faces -- unfortunately, Ngai's death in 2005 also made "The Trigger" his last appearance on screen.
Direction
Alex Yang's patient, Edward Yang-influenced visual storytelling.
Acting
Ngai Man-Yin's final, haunting performance as weary professionalism.
Cinematography
Nocturnal Taipei streets that breathe with lonely resignation.
Director
Alex Yang
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Alex Yang was Edward Yang's frequent collaborator, and this debut carries the same urban alienation that defined 'A Brighter Summer Day.'
Ngai Man-Yin, a Shaw Brothers veteran, died three years after this release; his final on-screen moments here carry unbearable weight in retrospect.
TW
